guru
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An influential advisor or mentor.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
goorooSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡuɹu
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
sometimes humorous
An influential advisor or mentor.
In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.
india
Any general teacher (as a term of respect).
verb
To act as a guru; to give wise advice
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B2 · Upper Intermediate
- Frequency
- Moderately Common
- Typical Use
- Neutral / general English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.
Used this way, guru is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use guru
- “Many people consider him a financial guru after his success.”
Share your sentence
Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
An authority on computers and computing.
Someone who advises about the use of communication media.
An expert on the UNIX operating system.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “guru” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.