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• pope
  pope

  noun

  the bishop of Rome as head of the Roman Catholic Church.
• Pope
  Pope

  noun

  Alexander, 1688–1744, English poet.
• Popé
  Popé

  noun

  died 1690?, Pueblo medicine man: led rebellion against the Spanish 1680.

pope

¹ American  

[pohp] / poʊp /

noun

1. (often initial capital letter) the bishop of Rome as head of the Roman Catholic Church.

2. (in the early Christian church) a bishop.

3. a person considered as having or assuming authority or a position similar to that of the Roman Catholic pope.

4. the title of the Coptic patriarch of Alexandria.

5. Eastern Church.

   1. the Orthodox patriarch of Alexandria.

   2. (in certain churches) a parish priest.

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Pope ² American  

[pohp] / poʊp /

noun

1. Alexander, 1688–1744, English poet.

2. John, 1822–92, Union general in the U.S. Civil War.

3. John Russell, 1874–1937, U.S. architect.

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Popé ³ American  

[poh-pey] / poʊˈpeɪ /

noun

1. died 1690?, Pueblo medicine man: led rebellion against the Spanish 1680.

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pope ¹ British  

/ pəʊp /

noun

1. another name for ruffe

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pope ² British  

/ pəʊp /

noun

1. (often capital) the bishop of Rome as head of the Roman Catholic Church

2. Eastern Orthodox Church

   1. a title sometimes given to a parish priest

   2. a title sometimes given to the Greek Orthodox patriarch of Alexandria

3. a person assuming or having a status or authority resembling that of a pope

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Pope ³ British  

/ pəʊp /

noun

1. Alexander. 1688–1744, English poet, regarded as the most brilliant satirist of the Augustan period, esp with his Imitations of Horace (1733–38). His technical virtuosity is most evident in The Rape of the Lock (1712–14). Other works include The Dunciad (1728; 1742), the Moral Essays (1731–35), and An Essay on Man (1733–34)

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pope Cultural  

1. The head of the Roman Catholic Church. The pope is believed by his church to be the successor to the Apostle Peter. He is bishop of Rome and lives in a tiny nation within Rome called the Vatican. Catholics believe that when the pope speaks officially on matters of faith and morals, he speaks infallibly (see papal infallibility). (See also John XXIII and John Paul II.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• popeless
  adjective
• popelike
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of pope

before 900; Middle English; Old English pāpa < Late Latin: bishop, pope < Late Greek pápas bishop, priest, variant of páppas father; see papa

Explanation

A pope is the head of the Catholic Church. The official title of a pope is the bishop of Rome. When you refer to a specific pope, the word is capitalized, as in Pope Francis. Each pope is considered to be a successor to the Biblical apostle Saint Peter, and each is elected by a group of Catholic cardinals to be the highest religious authority. Pope is from the Old English papa and derives from the Greek papas, which means "patriarch, bishop, or father."

Example Sentences

He is co-author of "Pope Francis: From the End of the Earth to Rome."

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026

A jubilant crowd of Catholic faithful filled Madrid with chants, cheers and applause on Sunday as an open-air mass by Pope Leo XIV imbued the Spanish capital with religious fervour.

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, last year put Gaudí on the path to sainthood, a multistage process that depends on the Catholic Church confirming claims of miracles.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026

In his homily, Pope Leo said Spaniards should not look at religion as "a museum of the past to be visited, but a school of faith from which to draw even today".

From Barron's • Jun. 7, 2026

The result was that in 1606, the Pope excommunicated the Doge of Venice and all his officials, including Sarpi.

From "The Scientists" by John Gribbin

Related Words

• pontiff