preach
Americanverb (used with object)
-
preaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
preached,
past participle, past
-
preaching
present participle
-
to proclaim or make known by sermon (the gospel, good tidings, etc.).
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to deliver (a sermon).
-
to advocate or inculcate (religious or moral truth, right conduct, etc.) in speech or writing.
verb (used without object)
-
preaches,
present (3rd person singular)
-
preached,
past participle, past
-
preaching
present participle
idioms
verb
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to make known (religious truth) or give religious or moral instruction or exhortation in (sermons)
-
to advocate (a virtue, action, etc), esp in a moralizing way
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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preachsimple
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preachessimple
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have preachedperfect
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has preachedperfect
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am preachingprogressive
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are preachingprogressive
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is preachingprogressive
-
have been preachingperfect progressive
-
has been preachingperfect progressive
Past
-
preachedsimple
-
had preachedperfect
-
was preachingprogressive
-
were preachingprogressive
-
had been preachingperfect progressive
Future
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.
Vocabulary lists containing preach
Tears of a Tiger
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"Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr." and "I Have a Dream"
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Homesick
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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.
See Examples For:
The strategists also preach caution and expect continued investor wariness around so-called “AI cannibalization areas,” namely the software, business services and media sectors.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 3, 2026
Pastors and faith leaders can preach on any moral or social issue, including justice, poverty, immigration, war.
From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026
Two women dressed in green and pink fur cradle each other’s heads, reimagining medieval depictions of cephalophores — Christian martyrs who carry their severed heads while continuing to preach or pray.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 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
Of his name, though not of his words, did they preach.
From "Geeks: How Two Lost Boys Rode the Internet Out of Idaho" by Jon Katz
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
Coach Cori Close preaches thriving, not surviving, and that’s been evident in the Bruins’ lopsided victory margin all season.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 22, 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
He preaches the convenience of these airports every chance he gets, but people don’t always listen.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 24, 2025
Like most in his church, secretary Alma Delia Jimenez Renteria says she has learned more from what the priest practices than what he preaches.
From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario
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
Civic engagement was not something they preached, it was how they lived.
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
He preached against the “delusion of omnipotence,” and called for an end to “idolatry of self and money” and “enough of war.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026
Generally speaking, I find the “millennials are entitled” narrative quite tired and sometimes preached by people who grew up in a much healthier economy.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 25, 2026
He lay awake at night, reading scriptures over and over, racking his brain for some meaning to words he’d been fed and had preached time and time again.
From "Where Things Come Back" by John Corey Whaley
This is where we find Lestat in Season 3, preaching the gospel that this is his time.
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2026
Amid the social inequity and climate apartheid, Fox tries offering hope, preaching about empathy with lines like “sharing is stronger than hoarding.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
“The pope continues on his path, in the sense of preaching the gospel,” Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin told reporters on Tuesday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
"If someone wants to criticise me for preaching the Gospel... I hope simply to be listened to because of the value of God's words."
From BBC ● May 5, 2026
“You’re preaching to the choir, Amir,” he said.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
