preach

American  

[preech] / pritʃ /

verb (used with object)

• preaches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• preached,
  past participle,  past
• preaching
  present participle

1. to proclaim or make known by sermon (the gospel, good tidings, etc.).

2. to deliver (a sermon).

3. to advocate or inculcate (religious or moral truth, right conduct, etc.) in speech or writing.

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verb (used without object)

• preaches,
  present (3rd person singular)
• preached,
  past participle,  past
• preaching
  present participle

1. to deliver a sermon.

2. to give earnest advice, as on religious or moral subjects or the like.

   Synonyms:

   expound, pronounce, profess, advocate

3. to give earnest advice in an obtrusive or tedious way.

idioms

1. preach to the choir. see preach to the choir.

preach British  

/ priːtʃ /

verb

1. to make known (religious truth) or give religious or moral instruction or exhortation in (sermons)

2. to advocate (a virtue, action, etc), esp in a moralizing way

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preach More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing preach

• practice what you preach

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• outpreach
  verb (used with object)
• preachable
  adjective
• unpreached
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Participles

• preaching
  present
• preached
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• preach
  simple
• preaches
  simple
• have preached
  perfect
• has preached
  perfect
• am preaching
  progressive
• are preaching
  progressive
• is preaching
  progressive
• have been preaching
  perfect progressive
• has been preaching
  perfect progressive

Past

• preached
  simple
• had preached
  perfect
• was preaching
  progressive
• were preaching
  progressive
• had been preaching
  perfect progressive

Future

• will preach
  simple
• will have preached
  perfect
• will be preaching
  progressive
• will have been preaching
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of preach

1175–1225; Middle English prechen < Old French pre ( ë ) chier < Late Latin praedicāre to preach ( Latin: to assert publicly, proclaim). See predicate

Explanation

To preach is to deliver a sermon or an otherwise powerful message. You may go to church to hear the minister preach, and you may preach tolerance to your friends. Have you ever heard anyone say, "That's preaching to the choir"? That means you're wasting your words on somebody who already believes what you believe. If you're giving an impassioned speech about recycling to an audience dressed in reclaimed clothing and sandals made of old tires, you're likely to be preaching to the choir. The word preach comes from the Latin prae, "before," and dicare, "declare." When you preach, you're not just talking — you're declaring something with conviction.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

preach preaches preached preaching

Pastors and faith leaders can preach on any moral or social issue, including justice, poverty, immigration, war.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

And yes, I practice what I preach and own an energy-stock fund in my own retirement accounts, though none of those mentioned.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

"We want to be a place where there's a mixing of lots of perspectives, and this is us practicing what we preach -- a cosmologist working closely with a condensed matter theorist."

From Science Daily ● Jun. 19, 2026

Brainerd, who died from tuberculosis at 29, resolved to live among the Native Americans and to preach and demonstrate a pious Christian life.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

“You only have one or two good friends in life,” she used to preach at us, and for her, Irene was one of those.

From "The Color of Water: A Black Man's Tribute to His White Mother" by James McBride

First, the government should practice what it preaches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026

On Tuesday night, Lahmeyer, a 34-year-old who preaches in suits, announced that he was running to represent Tulsa’s solidly red district, which is currently held by Rep. Kevin Hern.

From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2026

Smith-Njigba said Kupp’s greatest influence was the “process over results” Kupp preaches.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 7, 2026

But experts who work with children say that there is a long way to go before the system can properly implement the ideals the law preaches.

From BBC ● Jan. 13, 2026

Pastor Eldridge just about preaches Khalil into heaven.

From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas

De Zerbi preached patience and he is right - 10 senior arrivals means his team is still to find an identity.

From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026

“We visited local villages, preached the word, sent in clothes for the needy, toys for the children.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

He blended into the crowd, grew his beard, attended the mosques where the killers preached, listened, questioned, checked rumors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Abdel-Rahman lived and preached in New Jersey before he was convicted in 1995 of seditious conspiracy in relation to the first bombing of the World Trade Center.

From Slate ● Jul. 14, 2026

I want to hear bout the lovin’, forgivin’ God thet Jesus preached.

From "Cold Sassy Tree" by Olive Ann Burns

Though Awlaki's extremist preaching would come into sharper focus after 9/11, at the time the paintballing video was recorded he already had connections to al-Qaeda operatives and was shortly to be investigated by the FBI.

From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026

“We’ve been preaching change all along,” Mozeliak said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 2, 2026

As much as she was proud of where she was from, Dolly also spent the latter part of her years preaching and living out loud a sermon to her native region.

From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026

Certain evangelical leaders may be politically and personally odious, but millions of Americans have flooded into nondenominational churches in search of biblical preaching, youth programs, fellowship, forgiveness and music.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

When the prophet Muhammad began preaching in A.D.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson

Related Words

• exhort
• teach