Baptist
Americannoun
-
Baptists
plural
-
a member of a Christian denomination that baptizes believers by immersion and that is usually Calvinistic in doctrine.
-
(lowercase) a person who baptizes.
-
the Baptist. John the Baptist.
adjective
noun
-
a member of any of various Christian sects that affirm the necessity of baptism (usually of adults and by immersion) following a personal profession of the Christian faith
-
See John the Baptist
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Baptist
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English baptiste, from Old French, from Late Latin baptista, from Greek baptistḗs, equivalent to bapt(ízein) “to baptize ” + -istēs -ist
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Wayland Baptist University is cutting graduate tuition at its flagship campus by more than 35%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 18, 2026
For the faithful entering Christ Our Savior Catholic Parish in Santa Ana, the statue of Saint John the Baptist placing holy water on the head of Jesus represented a core tenant of Christianity.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
He studied theology at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and is the grandson of a Baptist preacher.
From Salon ● Sep. 21, 2026
There, he became deeply involved in a struggle over control of the village's Particular Baptist chapel.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
We passed by Friendship Baptist without Uncle Darnell making mention of the Arabian Knight or his sword, plastered into the yellow brick face of the church.
From "P.S. Be Eleven" by Rita Williams-Garcia
![]()
By then, he had become caught up in a fierce dispute among village Baptists.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026
Born in Michigan and raised in Glendale by devout Baptists, he became conscious of “the shame and the degradation” of poverty when his father’s business ventures flopped.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2024
Both are Baptists who talk about faith values.
From Slate ● Mar. 4, 2024
Considering the sexual abuse scandals within the Catholic church and the Southern Baptists, I find it strange that so many Christians are concerned about Freemasons and Shriners and "the Illuminati" molesting their children.
From Salon ● Aug. 13, 2023
If the Baptists hadn’t taken upon themselves the religious conversion of the Congolese.
From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver
![]()
Random Word
Spin the wheel and learn a new word!
Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.