/ prəˈfesə(r); NAmE / (also informal prof ) noun ( abbr. Prof. )
1.
( especially BrE ) ( NAmE ˈfull professor ) a university teacher of the highest rank :
Professor (Ann) Williams
a chemistry professor
to be appointed Professor of French at Cambridge
He was made (a) professor at the age of 40.
HELP NOTE : Full professor is used to describe a rank of university teacher, and not as a title.
2.
( NAmE ) a teacher at a university or college
—compare assistant professor , associate professor
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WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English : from Latin professor , from profess- declared publicly, from the verb profiteri , from pro- before + fateri confess.