counselor
Americannoun
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a faculty member who advises students on personal and academic problems, career choices, and the like.
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an assistant at a children's camp, often a high school or college student, who supervises a group of children or directs a particular activity, as nature study or a sport.
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a lawyer, especially a trial lawyer; counselor-at-law.
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an official of an embassy or legation who ranks below an ambassador or minister.
Other Word Forms
- counselorship noun
- precounsellor noun
Etymology
Origin of counselor
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English counseiler, counseillour, from Anglo-French cunseiler, cunseiliour, Old French conseilleor, conseillier; see origin at counsel, -eur, -er 2, -or 2
Explanation
A counselor is the person you can consult in your time of need. Your school guidance counselor may suggest you take Spanish class next school year. Bueno? How you define counselor depends on where you are at the time. In court, a counselor is the lawyer who gives clients advice on legal issues and pleads their case in court. During a therapy session, a counselor helps people understand and resolve personal issues. And at summer camp, a counselor is the person who supervises the children's activities and makes sure they stay safe.
Vocabulary lists containing counselor
Tears of a Tiger
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Michelle Obama's final address as First Lady (2017)
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Home of the Brave
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The goal is to expand the skills and ideas a counselor can draw from when trying to form a connection.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
Some have reported being hung up on when a 988 counselor misinterpreted their silence to mean they’d walked away.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 1, 2026
Kaley Chiles is a licensed counselor who offers only talk therapy.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026
“Students definitely know it’s going to have an impact, it’s just not clear how much of one or what it looks like,” said Stacie Gleason, a Hoboken, N.J.-based high school counselor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 22, 2026
Mrs. Richardson had wanted to be a journalist her entire life, long before the aptitude tests their guidance counselor had administered in high school.
From "Little Fires Everywhere" by Celeste Ng
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
