altar

American  

[awl-ter] / ˈɔl tər /

noun

• altars
  plural

1. an elevated place or structure, as a mound or platform at which religious rites are performed or on which sacrifices are offered to gods, ancestors, etc.

2. Ecclesiastical. communion table.

3. Astronomy. Altar, the constellation Ara.

4. (in a dry dock) a ledge for supporting the feet of shorings.

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idioms

1. lead to the altar, to marry.

   After a five-year courtship, he led her to the altar.

altar British  

/ ˈɔːltə /

noun

1. a raised place or structure where sacrifices are offered and religious rites performed

2. (in Christian churches) the communion table

3. a step in the wall of a dry dock upon which structures supporting a vessel can stand

4. informal to marry

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• altars
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of altar

First recorded before 1000; Middle English alter, altar, auter, Old English altar, altare, alter; (compare Middle Dutch outaer, Old Saxon, Old Norse altari, Old High German altāri ), from Latin altāria (the more frequently used plural of altāre used in a singular sense), of disputed origin and formation, but probably akin to Latin adolēre “to make a burnt offering, cremate,” Umbrian uřetu “let it burn, set incense on the fire”

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Explanation

An altar is a raised area in a house of worship where people can honor God with offerings. It is prominent in the Bible as "God's table," a sacred place for sacrifices and gifts offered up to God. The word altar comes from the Latin altārium, meaning "high," and also to the Latin adolere, which means "to ritually burn or sacrifice," which suggests its early purpose as detailed in the Bible. Nowadays, the altar is the place for non-sacrificial religious rites such as communion or weddings, and is a metaphor for offerings. Comedian Stephen Fry once said, “I am a lover of truth, a worshipper of freedom, a celebrant at the altar of language and purity and tolerance.”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

altar altars

The election of Leo XIV as Pope "touched something inside me," said Kawakami, who will be among the altar servers at the papal mass.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Willingly or not, as one 19th-century essayist put it, Shaw became “a voluntary sacrifice on the altar of Liberty for an enslaved race.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

An altar in the home of a practitioner of an African diasporic religion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

An estimated 700,000 people gathered for the Mass celebrated by the Pope from a special altar on the Place de la Concorde, on the second day of his four-day visit to France.

From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026

The ceremony continued for some time, with more perambulations and exchanges of secret passwords and hand signs, more invocations and singing, until C.P. found himself at last standing before the large central altar.

From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson

The opera opens in the real world, as drably attired villagers assemble marigold- and candle-festooned Day of the Dead altars.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 18, 2026

On November 1 and 2, many Mexicans will visit their dead in cemeteries and place offerings at home on colorful altars.

From Barron's ● Oct. 22, 2025

If you’re paying attention, you’ll start to notice them — little altars to chef Anthony Bourdain scattered across America’s restaurants, displayed with something close to religious conviction.

From Salon ● Jun. 20, 2025

A trailblazer in Chicano art, Amalia Mesa-Bains is known for her reimagining of traditional Mexican altars and offerings and her presentations of Mexican American women’s spirituality.

From New York Times ● Apr. 23, 2024

Maybe the offerings reappeared on the gods’ altars in Olympus...or even here, in the middle of Tartarus.

From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan

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