Ebenezer

American  

[eb-uh-nee-zer] / ˌɛb əˈni zər /

noun

1. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “stone of help.”

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Usage

What does Ebenezer mean? Ebenezer is a proper name that is perhaps best known as the name of Ebenezer Scrooge, the greedy old guy from Charles Dickens’ short novel A Christmas Carol.In this sense, Ebenezer (or ebenezer) is sometimes used as a term for someone who is especially greedy, or someone who grumpily refuses to participate in Christmastime festivities, as in Only an Ebenezer like you would cancel the toy drive. However, it’s his last name, Scrooge, that’s much more commonly used as a term for such people (often in lowercase as scrooge).Ebenezer also has two other uses. It can refer to a kind of memorial or commemoration of God’s help, especially a stone memorial or a kind of altar. It is also used as a slang word referring to anger or one’s temper, especially in phrases like get your ebenezer up or raise your ebenezer, though it’s now very rarely used in this way.

Example Sentences

We’ll keep it breezy, useful and real, because, as we’ve learned, most people are just trying to get a little better with their money without turning into day traders or Ebenezer Scrooge.

From MarketWatch • Jan. 2, 2026

Ebenezer Scrooge has been left to manage their lucrative counting-house without his onetime partner.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

Who wouldn’t be curious to see Ebenezer Scrooge take a Tinder date to meet his girlfriends past?

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025

Those fingers come with a long, skeletal middle digit equipped with a ball-and-socket joint for horrifying dexterity, like the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come beckoning Ebenezer Scrooge to gaze upon his own sordid death.

From Salon • May 11, 2025

“We’ll see to our duty, Miss, and if we find Ebenezer Carron on this place, we’ll take him back with us—and maybe you, too.”

From "Across Five Aprils" by Irene Hunt