scholar

noun

schol·​ar ˈskä-lər 

1

: a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher : pupil

2

a

: a person who has done advanced study in a special field

b

: a learned person

3

: a holder of a scholarship

Synonyms

• pundit
• sage
• savant

Examples of scholar in a Sentence

She's a renowned scholar of African-American history.

scholars have long debated whether there is ever such a thing as a truly selfless act

Recent Examples on the Web

Immigration authorities released visiting Georgetown University scholar Badar Khan Suri on Wednesday following a federal judge’s ruling. —Joseph Wilkinson, New York Daily News, 14 May 2025

Wednesday's court hearing was attended by dozens of people, including the scholar's family members, friends and colleagues at Georgetown and advocates. —Soo Rin Kim, ABC News, 14 May 2025

Before Wednesday’s hearing, U.S. attorneys argued that Khan Suri’s case should be moved from Virginia to Texas because the petition was filed after the scholar had already left the state. —Olivia Diaz, Los Angeles Times, 14 May 2025

The writer and scholar Robert Macfarlane has spent much of his life climbing up mountains and fishing on rivers, and his passion for each extends to his writing. —The New Yorker, New Yorker, 14 May 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English scoler, from Old English scolere & Anglo-French escoler, from Medieval Latin scholaris, from Late Latin, of a school, from Latin schola school

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing scholar

• Rhodes scholar

Rhymes for scholar

• caller
• collar
• crawler
• dollar
• faller
• haller
• hauler
• holler
• smaller
• squalor
• taller
• trawler

Kids Definition

scholar

noun

schol·​ar ˈskäl-ər 

1

: a person who attends a school or studies under a teacher : pupil

2

a

: a person who has done advanced study in a special area

b

: a learned person

3

: a holder of a scholarship

scholarly adjective