priest
a person whose office it is to perform religious rites, and especially to make sacrificial offerings.
(in Christian use)
a person ordained to the sacerdotal or pastoral office; a member of the clergy; minister.
(in hierarchical churches) a member of the clergy of the order next below that of bishop, authorized to carry out the Christian ministry.
a minister of any religion.
to ordain as a priest.
Origin of priest
1Other words from priest
- priestless, adjective
- priestlike, adjective, adverb
- an·ti·priest, adjective
- un·der·priest, noun
- un·priest·like, adjective, adverb
Words that may be confused with priest
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use priest in a sentence
But most likely it was linked to the way priests identify with the poor in the face of government and criminal abuses.
Priests often preach support for the regime to their congregations, many of whom loudly dissent.
In One Corner of Syria, Christmas Spirit Somehow Manages to Survive | Peter Schwartzstein | December 25, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTThe Vatican says it is doing everything it can to take pedophile priests out of circulation.
I truly believe that most predator priests are out there living alone.
Last year the Vatican admitted that it had defrocked 848 priests between 2004 and 2013, without specifying where they are from.
In 1848 there were only seven priests in Birmingham, and but seventy in the whole diocese.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellBesides these, twenty thousand Indians are under the care of secular priests—making a total of two hundred and five thousand.
I think there were more than five thousand persons present, including a thousand priests and a thousand soldiers.
Glances at Europe | Horace GreeleyThese scientists have worked miracles before which those of the ancient priests and magicians are mere tricks of hanky-panky.
God and my Neighbour | Robert BlatchfordAccordingly, as soon as they saw our Priests they refused outright to let the ship sail if the Jesuits were to embark in it.
British Dictionary definitions for priest
feminine priestess
/ (priːst) /
Christianity a person ordained to act as a mediator between God and man in administering the sacraments, preaching, blessing, guiding, etc
(in episcopal Churches) a minister in the second grade of the hierarchy of holy orders, ranking below a bishop but above a deacon
a minister of any religion
Judaism a descendant of the family of Aaron who has certain privileges in the synagogue service
(in some non-Christian religions) an official who offers sacrifice on behalf of the people and performs other religious ceremonies
(sometimes capital) a variety of fancy pigeon having a bald pate with a crest or peak at the back of the head
angling a small club used to kill fish caught
to make a priest; ordain
Origin of priest
1Other words from priest
- Related adjective: hieratic
Derived forms of priest
- priestlike, adjective
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
Cultural definitions for priest
One who is designated an authority on religious matters. In some churches, especially the Anglican Communion, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Roman Catholic Church, the ordained church leader who serves a congregation of believers is called a priest. The priests in these churches administer the sacraments, preach, and care for the needs of their congregations. (See also minister and pastor.)
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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