hallow
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make holy; sanctify; consecrate.
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to honor as holy; consider sacred; venerate.
to hallow a battlefield.
verb
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to consecrate or set apart as being holy
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to venerate as being holy
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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hallowsimple
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hallowssimple
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have hallowedperfect
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has hallowedperfect
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am hallowingprogressive
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are hallowingprogressive
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is hallowingprogressive
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have been hallowingperfect progressive
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has been hallowingperfect progressive
Past
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hallowedsimple
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had hallowedperfect
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was hallowingprogressive
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were hallowingprogressive
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had been hallowingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of hallow
First recorded before 900; Middle English hal(o)wen, Old English hālgian (cognate with German heiligen, Old Norse helga ), derivative of hālig “consecrated, sacred, holy”; see holy
Explanation
To hallow is to bless, consecrate, or render holy by means of religious rites, especially significant religious places or the relics of saints. As a noun, hallow means "saint." The word for our popular holiday Halloween is a shortened form of "All Hallows' Eve," or "All Saints' Eve," which precedes All Saints' Day. In the verb form, the synonyms bless and sanctify are more commonly used these days, but hallow still appears in such phrases as "hallowed ground" (ground that's been blessed) and the Christian "hallowed be Thy name" (a phrase from "The Lord's Prayer," where hallowed means "revered").
Vocabulary lists containing hallow
The Grim Reader: Wicked Words of Grave Importance for Halloween
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Abraham Lincoln's "Gettysburg Address" (1863)
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Othello
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The co-founder of Hallow, Erich Kerekes, has said his app intends to serve as a “quick hook” to get users to spend more time with the Lord when it suits their schedule.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 14, 2026
A generation, though, came to know her as Mia Bass, the owner of the Independence Inn in Stars Hallow, in a Season 2 episode of “Gilmore Girls.”
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 16, 2025
In the advertising, the Hallow app seems bland enough.
From Salon • Apr. 18, 2025
Tegan Chambers, 24, who raps as Sleepy Hallow, has close to 11 million monthly listeners on Spotify.
From Seattle Times • May 24, 2024
The Uncle’s cabin sat in a grove at the end of Hallow Lane.
From "Witchlings" by Claribel A. Ortega
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
