Faculty refers to the teachers and professors who work at a school, college, or university. When someone says “the faculty meeting is today,” they mean all the teachers are gathering together. At a university, the faculty includes everyone from assistant professors just starting their careers to distinguished scholars who've taught for decades.

This meaning connects to an older sense of the word: you might read about someone's mental faculties (their abilities to think, reason, and remember) or their faculty for languages (a natural talent for learning them).

In colleges, faculty members usually specialize in specific subjects. The English faculty teaches literature and writing, while the mathematics faculty handles everything from algebra to calculus. Some schools divide their faculty into groups called departments: the History Department faculty, the Science Department faculty, and so on. Faculty members don't just teach classes; they also create new knowledge through research, write textbooks, advise students, and help run their schools.