guru

[ goor-oo, goo-roo ]

noun

1. Hinduism. a preceptor giving personal religious instruction.
2. an intellectual or spiritual guide or leader.
3. any person who counsels or advises; mentor:

   The elder senator was her political guru.

4. a leader in a particular field:

   the city's cultural gurus.

guru

/ ˈɡuːruː; ˈɡʊruː /

noun

1. a Hindu or Sikh religious teacher or leader, giving personal spiritual guidance to his disciples
2. derogatory.
   a leader or chief theoretician of a movement, esp a spiritual or religious cult
3. facetious.
   a leading authority in a particular field

   a cricketing guru

guru

1. In Hinduism , a teacher or spiritual leader.

Notes

By extension, a “guru” is a teacher who attracts disciples or followers.

Derived Forms

• ˈguruˌship, noun

Other Words From

• guru·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of guru¹

1820–30; < Hindi gurū < Sanskrit guru venerable, weighty

Word History and Origins

Origin of guru¹

C17: from Hindi gurū, from Sanskrit guruh weighty

Example Sentences

"I'm absolutely sure that when he reaches 14, he'll be a guru of teaching and a guru of developing, and that is why we're really looking forward to this time," he said.

From BBC

Cutler, the director of Netflix’s ‘Martha,’ discussed his film about the lifestyle guru and businesswoman and how he isn’t bothered by her criticism of it.

From Los Angeles Times

Nate Silver, the elections forecasting guru, made the case that the rally and Trump’s domination of the headlines might even help Harris — especially when the headlines are bad.

From Los Angeles Times

She manages to be vulnerable, venerable, semi-transparent and entirely opaque, like any of the great gurus.

From Los Angeles Times

His immigration guru, Stephen Miller, has made it very clear that he intends to drastically curtail legal immigration as well.

From Salon

Related Words

• master
• teacher
• tutor