Noun
After college, her professor became her close friend and mentor.
He needed a mentor to teach him about the world of politics.
We volunteer as mentors to disadvantaged children.
young boys in need of mentorsVerb
The young intern was mentored by the country's top heart surgeon.
Our program focuses on mentoring teenagers.
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Noun
One was her mentor at Ralph Lauren, another was her design director at Marchesa, and the third was her close friend who helped Victoria get her first internship in fashion.—Shelby Wax, Vogue, 12 Mar. 2025 Sometimes mentors can change your whole way of thinking.—Victoria Edel, People.com, 11 Mar. 2025
Verb
Miller is playing an integral role, mentoring students in multiple phases of show design and execution, and coaching emerging designers throughout the process.—Lisa Lockwood, WWD, 28 Feb. 2025 Williams for years mentored youth living on the South Side of Chicago who were in her Sunday school classes and who lived in unstable environments.—Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY, 28 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for mentor
Word History
Etymology
Noun
as name borrowed from Latin Mentōr, borrowed from Greek Méntōr; as generic noun borrowed from French mentor, after Mentor, character in the novel Les aventures de Télémaque (1699) by the French cleric and writer François Fénelon (1651-1715), based on characters in the Odyssey
Note:
In Fénelon's work Mentor is a principal character, and his speeches and advice to Telemachus during their travels constitute much of the book's substance.
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