podium

[ poh-dee-uhm ]
See synonyms for podium on Thesaurus.com
noun,plural po·di·ums, po·di·a [poh-dee-uh]. /ˈpoʊ di ə/.
  1. a small platform for the conductor of an orchestra, a public speaker, the recipient of a sports medal, etc.

  2. Architecture.

    • a low wall forming a base for a construction, as a colonnade or dome.

    • a stereobate for a classical temple, especially one with perpendicular sides.

    • the masonry supporting a classical temple.

    • a raised platform surrounding the arena of an ancient Roman amphitheater having on it the seats of privileged spectators.

  1. a counter or booth, as one at an airport for handling tickets or dispensing information.

  2. Zoology, Anatomy. a foot.

  3. Botany. a footstalk or stipe.

verb (used without object)
  1. (in a sports competition) to finish first, second, or third and receive an award while standing on a podium: He’s podiumed in five of his past six races.

Origin of podium

1
1605–15; <Latin: “elevated place, balcony” <Greek pódion “little foot,” equivalent to pod- pod- + -ion diminutive suffix. See pew

Other definitions for -podium (2 of 2)

-podium

  1. a combining form meaning “footlike part” of an organism, used in the formation of compound words: monopodium; pseudo-podium.

Origin of -podium

2
From New Latin; see origin at podium

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use podium in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for podium (1 of 2)

podium

/ (ˈpəʊdɪəm) /


nounplural -diums or -dia (-dɪə)
  1. a small raised platform used by lecturers, orchestra conductors, etc; dais

  2. a plinth that supports a colonnade or wall

  1. a low wall surrounding the arena of an ancient amphitheatre

  2. zoology

    • the terminal part of a vertebrate limb

    • any footlike organ, such as the tube foot of a starfish

Origin of podium

1
C18: from Latin: platform, balcony, from Greek podion little foot, from pous foot

British Dictionary definitions for -podium (2 of 2)

-podium

n combining form
  1. a part resembling a foot: pseudopodium

Origin of -podium

2
from New Latin: footlike; see podium

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012