pedestal

[ ped-uh-stl ]
See synonyms for pedestal on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. an architectural support for a column, statue, vase, or the like.

  2. a supporting structure or piece; base.

  1. Furniture.

    • a support for a desk, consisting of a boxlike frame containing drawers one above the other.

    • a columnar support for a tabletop.

  2. Building Trades. a bulge cast at the bottom of a concrete pile.

verb (used with object),ped·es·taled, ped·es·tal·ing or (especially British) ped·es·talled, ped·es·tal·ling.
  1. to put on or supply with a pedestal.

Idioms about pedestal

  1. set / put on a pedestal, to glorify; idealize: When we first became engaged each of us set the other on a pedestal.

Origin of pedestal

1
1555–65; alteration of Middle French piedestal<Italian piedestallo, variant of piedistallo literally, foot of stall. See ped-2, de, stall1

Other words from pedestal

  • un·ped·es·tal, verb (used with object), un·ped·es·taled, un·ped·es·tal·ing or (especially British) un·ped·es·talled, un·ped·es·tal·ling.

Words Nearby pedestal

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

How to use pedestal in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for pedestal

pedestal

/ (ˈpɛdɪstəl) /


noun
  1. a base that supports a column, statue, etc, as used in classical architecture

  2. a position of eminence or supposed superiority (esp in the phrases place, put, or set on a pedestal)

    • either of a pair of sets of drawers used as supports for a writing surface

    • (as modifier): a pedestal desk

Origin of pedestal

1
C16: from French piédestal, from Old Italian piedestallo, from pie foot + di of + stallo a stall

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with pedestal

pedestal

see on a pedestal.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.