Word.ws English Dictionary

absent-minded professors

absent-minded professors is the plural of absent-minded professor.

Meaning of absent-minded professor

Noun

absent-minded professor (plural absent-minded professors)

  1. A stereotypical fictional character whose focus on academic matters leads them to ignore or forget their surroundings.
    • An absent-minded professor, in going out of the gateway of his college, ran against a cow. In the confusion of the moment, he raised his hat, and exclaimed: " I beg your pardon, Madam." Soon after, he stumbled against a lady in the street. In sudden recollection of his former mishap, he called out...1864, The American Educational Monthly, volume 1, page 23
  2. (broadly) A person who tends to be oblivious to reality.
    • Snapshot: Jimmy, a third-grader, is an absent-minded professor before his time. He forgets everything, from his lunch box in the morning, to his raincoat1997, Edward M. Hallowell, When You Worry About the Child You Love, page 38

Questions about absent-minded professors

What is absent-minded professors the plural of?
Absent-minded professors is the plural of absent-minded professor.

Words near absent-minded professors in the dictionary

  1. absent voter
  2. absent voters
  3. absent without leave
  4. absent-minded
  5. absent-minded professor
  6. absent-minded professors
  7. absent-mindedly
  8. absent-mindedness
  9. absent-mindednesses
  10. absentaneous
  11. absentation

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: absent-minded professors (page history and authors); absent-minded professor (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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