docent
noun
do·cent
ˈdō-sᵊnt 
dō(t)-ˈsent
dō(t)-ˈsent
1
: a college or university teacher or lecturer
2
: a person who leads guided tours especially through a museum or art gallery
Did you know?
The title of docent is used in many countries for what Americans would call an associate professor—that is, a college or university teacher who has been given tenure but hasn't yet achieved the rank of full professor. But in the U.S. a docent is a guide who works at a museum, a historical site, or even a zoo or a park. Docents are usually volunteers, and their services are often free of charge.
Examples of docent in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And meaningful progress turns out to be much harder than simply refashioning an exhibit or a docent’s spiel.
—
Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
The tours will be led by griots, or docents, from America’s Black Holocaust museum.
—Anya Sesay, jsonline.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Nonprofit associations provide the option to apply online to aid a variety of lighthouses with maintenance, acting as docents and staying overnight as volunteer keepers.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 4 Feb. 2026
To the museum board, this seemed like a poor allocation of resources; certainly the guards or docents could instruct people on flash usage.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for docent
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Robert Abele, Los Angeles Times, 6 Feb. 2026
The tours will be led by griots, or docents, from America’s Black Holocaust museum.
—Anya Sesay, jsonline.com, 5 Feb. 2026
Nonprofit associations provide the option to apply online to aid a variety of lighthouses with maintenance, acting as docents and staying overnight as volunteer keepers.
—Jenna Prestininzi, Freep.com, 4 Feb. 2026
To the museum board, this seemed like a poor allocation of resources; certainly the guards or docents could instruct people on flash usage.
—Literary Hub, 29 Jan. 2026
See All Example Sentences for docent
Cite this Entry
“Docent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/docent. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.
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