Absalom

American  

[ab-suh-luhm] / ˈæb sə ləm /

noun

1. (in the Bible) the third and favorite son of David, who rebelled against his father and was slain by Joab.

2. a first name: from a Hebrew word meaning “father of peace.”

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Absalom British  

/ ˈæbsələm /

noun

1. Old Testament the third son of David, who rebelled against his father and was eventually killed by Joab (II Samuel 15–18)

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Example Sentences

Huw Absalom said family members had received "no information" about the scope of Operation Hallam and what exhibits were being examined.

From BBC • Oct. 17, 2025

In the 1950s and ’60s, a literary-minded cat named Dr. Absalom Minola — writing via his “butler,” future UC Berkeley archivist Jim Kantor — began sending letters to authors, editors and public figures.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 7, 2025

But there wasn’t much talk about abolitionism, or Forten’s old friends, like Absalom Jones, founder of the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, or William Lloyd Garrison, editor of The Liberator newspaper.

From Seattle Times • Nov. 13, 2022

William Faulkner describes the Mason-Dixie in Absalom, Absalom! as “dead since 1865 and peopled with garrulous outraged baffled ghosts.”

From Slate • Aug. 28, 2021

The mayor’s note to the authors recognized not only Absalom Jones and Richard Allen but all of the people who volunteered under their direction.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy