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Is one more formal then the other?

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Related (dupe?): Professors and Students. – RegDwighт♦ Feb 18 '11 at 12:12
@RegDwight, tough call, the question isn't a dupe, but the accepted answer to that question also answers this one... – Benjol Feb 18 '11 at 12:32

5 Answers

up vote 5 down vote accepted

Teach is including a more general concept.

According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

Teacher:

someone whose job is to teach, especially in a school

Professor:

American English: a teacher at a university or college

British English: a teacher of the highest rank in a university department

To see academic degrees visit here.

Also you may find it interesting to know:

  • teacher someone who teaches as their job, especially in a school : a high school teacher

  • principal ( also headteacher British English ) the teacher who is in charge of a school or college : The teacher sent him to the principal’s office.

  • tutor someone who gives private lessons to one student or a small group of students. In Britain, a tutor is also a teacher in a university : They hired a tutor to help him with his English. | Your tutor will help you find a subject for your essay. lecturer someone who teaches in a university or college : University lecturers aren’t very well paid.

  • professor a teacher in a college or university. In Britain, a professor is a high-ranking university teacher, especially one who is head of a department : She was professor of linguistics at Cambridge University.

  • instructor someone who teaches a sport or a practical skill such as swimming or driving : He works as a ski instructor in the winter. | a driving instructor

  • coach someone who helps a person or team improve in a sport : a professional tennis coach

  • educator especially American English formal someone whose job involves teaching people, or someone who is an expert on education : Most educators agree that class sizes are still too big.

  • trainer someone who teaches people particular skills, especially the skills they need to do a job : a teacher trainer | Many companies pay outside trainers to teach management skills to their staff.

  • governess a woman who lived with a family and taught their children in past times : As a governess, Charlotte Brontë received twenty pounds a year.

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My experience of "tutor" in en-gb is a bit different. Yes, it covers those who give private lessons, but in both my secondary school and my university I had someone designated as my tutor who was a person I could go to for non-academic support. – Peter Taylor Feb 18 '11 at 21:36
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@Manoochehr - All good, but I've generally heard "headmaster" where you have "headteacher". – MT_Head Jul 14 '11 at 16:26
In the US, many private schools use "headmaster" in place of "principal". (My own high school, despite being public, used the title "headmaster" as well, and this was widely seen as a bit pretentious.) – Henry Sep 25 '12 at 16:34
up vote 3 down vote

Professor is more specific of teacher, as it is used when referring to a teacher of the highest rank in a college or university.

Informally, professor is used to refer to any instructor, especially the specialized ones.

[Reference: the New Oxford American Dictionary.]

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Exactly: You typically wouldn't say primary school professor, nor would you say university teacher. – Benjol Feb 18 '11 at 12:33
@Benjol: Where I am from, you are called instructor at the university level unless you have earned your PhD. – Kosmonaut Feb 18 '11 at 13:37
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I think "university teacher" is sometimes used, but in most institutions there's probably no actual job title called a "teacher". As the original poster says, note that a "professor" isn't just any old university teacher, though: it's a specific title implying a specific rank within the department/university, as are "lecturer", "senior lecturer", "reader" etc. – Neil Coffey Feb 18 '11 at 14:32
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@Neil Coffey - While that's true from a title standpoint, the term professor is used in some regions as a general term to refer to anyone teaching at a university level. E.g. I would find it extremely odd to say my math lecturer instead of my math professor regardless of the standing of the actual person in the dept. – Dusty Feb 18 '11 at 16:16
Ah OK -- now I think about it more, I think there's a US/UK difference as well (I think in the UK, "tutor" or "lecturer", depending on the function, may be more common if the person isn't actually a professor). – Neil Coffey Feb 18 '11 at 18:07
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up vote 1 down vote

Professor is also a rank, and a title, in the American university system and as such, confers status on its recipients. There are lots of "instructors" and "lecturers" and "graduate assistants" who teach and publish original research who would love to be called "professor." So yes, "professor" is more formal than "teacher." In any sort of professional setting, for example in asking for the referral of an article or seeking university employment, I would be very careful to refer to the professor I'm mailing as "Professor" and not "teacher", so as not to seem overly familiar.

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up vote 0 down vote

I believe a 'teacher' is someone who teaches you anything. 'Professor' is a specialist in a field of study and teaches by profession.

A mother can be a teacher but not a professor (unless she is falls into the category mentioned above).

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up vote -1 down vote

A professor is one who teaches in a university or college whereas a teacher is the one who teaches in high schools and comprehensive schools.

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There are many who teach (or research) in universities whose greatest ambition is to become professors. – TimLymington May 6 at 21:52

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