Mordecai

American

[mawr-di-kahy, mawr-di-key-ahy] / ˈmɔr dɪˌkaɪ, ˌmɔr dɪˈkeɪ aɪ /

noun

(in the Bible) the cousin and guardian of Esther who delivered the Jews from the destruction planned by Haman.
a male given name.

Mordecai ¹ British

/ ˈmɔːdəˌkaɪ, ˌmɔːdəˈkaɪ /

noun

Old Testament the cousin of Esther who averted a massacre of the Jews (Esther 2–9)

"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

Mordecai ² British

/ ˌmɔːdəˈkaɪ, ˈmɔːdəˌkaɪ /

noun

Old Testament the cousin of Esther who averted a massacre of the Jews (Esther 2–9)

"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

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.

Mordecai Kaplan defined God as a spiritual and ethical power within us that urges us to do good.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

Then, on third down, Wax shot a gap and had a strip sack of quarterback Tanner Mordecai.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 24, 2025

The secretly-Jewish Queen Esther and her cousin Mordecai foil Haman's plan when Esther reveals her Jewishness to her husband and convinces the king to spare her people from genocide.

From Salon • Mar. 15, 2025

Washington State’s star edge rusher couldn’t find a way to get pressure on Wisconsin quarterback Tanner Mordecai, and as the Sept. 9 game wore on, he started to feel frustration boil inside him.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 24, 2023

Siobhan rubbed her bracelet for luck as Reggie warmed up with his teammate, Mordecai.

From "The Parker Inheritance" by Varian Johnson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023