faculty

The word “faculty” means the teaching staff of a school, college or university. In plain terms, either the teachers at a school, a branch of a university, or a natural mental/physical ability.

“Faculty” is pronounced FAK-uhl-tee (/ˈfæk.əl.ti/ in IPA).

Here is “faculty” used in a sentence: “The faculty voted to change the exam schedule.”

Words with a similar meaning to “faculty” include ability, attribute, capability, capacity, endowment and gift.

“Faculty” is a noun.

The word “faculty” comes from Latin. From Old French faculte, from Latin facultas ("ability, skill"), related to facilis, "easy" — the same root that gives us "facility.".

“Faculty” is a fairly common word in modern English, usually learned at around the B2 level.

“Faculty” has 3 distinct senses listed in this dictionary. The most common is: the teaching staff of a school, college or university.

Faculty usually refers to the teaching and academic members of an institution, such as professors, lecturers, and instructors, while staff often refers more broadly to non-teaching employees like administrators and support workers. In American English "faculty" specifically names the teaching body, whereas British universities more often say "academic staff."

A faculty is a large division of a university that groups related subjects, such as the Faculty of Science or Faculty of Law, while a department is a smaller unit within a faculty devoted to a single subject. So a Faculty of Arts might contain separate departments of History, English, and Philosophy.

"Faculty" is a collective noun, so it can take a singular verb when treated as one body ("the faculty meets on Fridays") or, especially in British English, a plural verb when the individual members are emphasised. In American English it can also refer to the teachers collectively, as in "three faculty attended."

In this sense "faculty" refers to a natural or mental power such as the faculty of sight, speech, or reason, and it is common in formal or medical contexts. You might say someone "retained all their mental faculties," meaning their reasoning and perception remained intact.