mentor

SayMEN-torUS/ˈmɛn.toɹ//ˈmɛn.tɔː/AUSMEN-taw/ˈmen.toː/

Pluralmentors

Verbmentors, mentoring, mentored

2 meanings of mentor

Practice

1
nouncountable
A wise and trusted counselor or teacher, especially one who guides a less experienced person.
Throughout her residency, the young doctor leaned on her mentor for advice.
A good mentor offers honest feedback without crushing a beginner's confidence.
Similaradviser, guide, counselor, tutor, coach
2
verbtransitive
To guide and advise a less experienced person, acting as their counselor or teacher.
He volunteered to mentor a struggling junior employee through her first project.
Senior researchers mentor graduate students throughout their dissertations.
Similarguide, advise, coach, counsel, tutor

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Origin

From French mentor, from Ancient Greek Méntōr, a character in the Odyssey whose name shares a root with English mind. It is cognate with Sanskrit mantṛ ("advisor") and Latin monitor ("one who admonishes"), and perhaps ultimately goes back to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to think" (compare Latin moneō, "to warn").