noun · verb · 8 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
UK:/ˈɡʊɹuː/
UK:/ˈɡuːɹuː/
UK:/ɡʊˈɹuː/
Southern-England:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
US:/ˈɡʊɹ(ˌ)u/
US:/ˈɡu(ˌ)ɹu/
US:/ɡəˈɹu/
Mid-Atlantic, US:Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
rhymes with -ʊɹuː
rhymes with -uːɹuː
rhymes with -uː
CMU ARPABET:G UW1 R UW2
Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
1
noun
Meaning 1
In Indian traditions: a spiritual teacher who transmits knowledge to a shishya.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
2
noun
Meaning 2
Any general teacher (as a term of respect).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: India
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
3
noun
Meaning 3
An influential advisor or mentor.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: humorous, sometimes
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
4
noun
Meaning 4
A fraudster or conman relying on a projected air of confidence in an obscure field.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: derogatory
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
5
verb
Meaning 5
To act as a guru; to give wise advice
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
6
noun
Meaning 6
a Hindu or Buddhist religious leader and spiritual teacher
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: religious leader
7
noun
Meaning 7
a recognized leader in some field or of some movement
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
Examples
a guru of genomics
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: leader
8
noun
Meaning 8
each of the first ten leaders of the Sikh religion
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: religious leader
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Hindi गुरु (guru) / Punjabi ਗੁਰੂ (gurū), from Sanskrit गुरु (guru, “venerable, respectable”), originally "heavy" and in this sense cognate to English grieve and, more distantly, brute. Doublet of grave. A traditional, though flawed etymology based on the Advayataraka Upanishad (line 16) describes the syllables gu as “darkness” and ru as “destroyer”, thus ascribing the meaning of “one who destroys/dispels darkness” to the word.
Across languages
Translations
85 source translations are retained for this English entry.
