Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

churchwarden

American  
[church-wawr-dn] / ˈtʃɜrtʃˌwɔr dn /

noun

  1. Anglican Church. a lay officer who looks after the secular affairs of the church, and who, in England, is the legal representative of the parish.

  2. Episcopal Church. a lay church officer who, with other members of the vestry, is in charge of the temporal management of the parish.

  3. a long-stemmed clay pipe for smoking.


churchwarden British  
/ ˌtʃɜːtʃˈwɔːdən /

noun

  1. Church of England Episcopal Church one of two assistants of a parish priest who administer the secular affairs of the church

  2. a long-stemmed tobacco pipe made of clay

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of churchwarden

1400–50; late Middle English chirche wardeyn

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.

"Some of the old guard were worried about theft, but we were determined to be open and available to the whole community," says churchwarden Robert Allen.

From BBC • Oct. 10, 2019

Here is a Sunday school superintendent, churchwarden and self-appointed president of a piety league, who religiously highlights the faults in others while constantly trying to pursue his own advancement through “good deeds”.

From The Guardian • Jan. 7, 2017

But we took advantage of 21st-century technology and called churchwarden Chris Moss, who came to show us around.

From Washington Post • Nov. 6, 2015

The churchwarden pipes are about 15 inches long.

From New York Times • Mar. 4, 2012

The confession seems to have been safely made, and doubtless churchwarden Hough was proud of it.

From The Romantic Story of the Mayflower Pilgrims And Its Place in the Life of To-day by Addison, Albert Christopher