altar

American  

[awl-ter] / ˈɔl tər /

noun

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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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”

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

The study focuses on how the Altar Stone and other massive rocks ended up at Stonehenge, a question that has puzzled researchers for generations.

From Science Daily • Jan. 27, 2026

Sánchez and the officers protecting him had left Hermosillo, the capital of the state of Sonora, before sunrise on June 23 and by 7 a.m. had arrived in Altar.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 6, 2025

Jafari expects it won’t be long before she can say that a couple met at The Altar.

From The Wall Street Journal • Sep. 12, 2025

Surrounded on all sides by a continuous oppressive chorus of cicadas and the mountain ranges making up the Altar Valley, you quickly lose any sense of direction.

From Salon • Oct. 4, 2024

From Nogales, they went south, west, and up into the highlands, often on dirt roads, to Altar.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

Related Words

• shrine