chaplain
Americannoun
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chaplains
plural
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an ecclesiastic attached to the chapel of a royal court, college, etc., or to a military unit.
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a person who says the prayer, invocation, etc., for an organization or at an assembly.
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chaplain
before 1100; Middle English chapelain < Middle French < Late Latin cappellānus custodian of St. Martin's cloak ( see chapel, -an); replacing Old English capellan < Late Latin, as above
Explanation
A chaplain is usually a religious leader — a minister, rabbi, or other clergy member — who works outside of a church or temple. You can use the word chaplain to describe the minister who counsels patients at your local hospital. Or, a chaplain could also be a priest who lives and works with soldiers on a battlefield (a military chaplain). These days, many chaplains are non-denominational, not associated with any particular religion. The Latin root word, cappellanus, means "clergyman."
Vocabulary lists containing chaplain
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The Wednesday Wars
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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:
Religious leaders present in Blue Ash on Sunday also included women serving as a Jewish rabbi, a Baptist minister and a Muslim chaplain.
From Salon ● Aug. 12, 2026
The calls often open with a guest speaker and close with an evening prayer, offered by a chaplain in the Los Angeles County Fire Department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
“No matter how sophisticated AI gets,” says the Rev. Justin Bolger, Catholic chaplain for Brown University, “it will never be a substitute for another person, especially God.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Back on the recovery ship, he sought out the chaplain, needing a way to express what he had experienced that science had not given him.
From BBC ● Apr. 16, 2026
The chaplain thanked him with a curt nod and proceeded alone down the aisle between the desks and typewriters to the canvas partition in the rear.
From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller
According to the Navy, aboard the Lincoln were one clinical psychologist, one clinical social worker and three behavioral health technicians as well as a counselor and five Navy chaplains.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
The Pentagon in recent decades has welcomed a diversity of faiths, with chaplains tasked more with offering personal comfort and guidance than on blessing leaders' decisions.
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
Elizabeth Diop and Adam Allen, now both former Cincinnati Children’s Hospital chaplains, have been outspoken in their support for their former colleague.
From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2025
There clinicians, chaplains and as many as eight therapy dogs are available around the clock.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 19, 2025
The chaplains have been trying to reunite survivors, a fruitless effort most of the time.
From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper
Definitions 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.
