disciple
Americannoun
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a person who is a pupil or an adherent of the doctrines of another; follower.
a disciple of Freud.
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Religion.
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one of the 12 personal followers of Christ.
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one of the 70 followers sent forth by Christ. Luke 10:1.
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any other professed follower of Christ in His lifetime.
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any follower of Christ.
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Disciple, a member of the Disciples of Christ.
verb (used with object)
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Archaic. to convert into a disciple.
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Obsolete. to teach; train.
noun
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a follower of the doctrines of a teacher or a school of thought
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one of the personal followers of Christ (including his 12 apostles) during his earthly life
Related Words
See pupil 1.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of disciple
First recorded before 900; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin discipulus, equivalent to dis- dis- 1 + -cip(ere), combining form of capere “to take” + -ulus -ule; replacing Middle English deciple, from Anglo-French de(s)ciple; replacing Old English discipul, from Latin, as above
Explanation
A disciple is a follower or a fan of someone. You might consider yourself to be a disciple of your favorite yoga teacher. The noun disciple comes from the Latin word discipulus, which means "student, learner, or follower." One of the earliest places disciple showed up was in the Bible, where it means "a follower of Jesus," sometimes specifically one of the twelve Apostles. It's still used that way in religious speech and writing, but it can also describe a serious, dedicated follower or student of a teacher or leader.
Vocabulary lists containing disciple
Persepolis
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The Poet X
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The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind
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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.
He is a disciple of lean management techniques developed in Japan that focus on collaboration and continuous improvement.
From Barron's • May 7, 2026
Oh my, Cori, this being a legacy triumph for coach Cori Close, a John Wooden disciple who led through thoughtful motivation instead of mindless screaming.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 5, 2026
Ward considers himself a Boglehead, or a disciple of John Bogle, the Vanguard founder who preached holding index funds and seldom making changes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 8, 2025
“It’s where I’ve always been raised, coming from the SEC, you’ve got to run that ball, and me being a Nick Saban disciple, that’s just my thought process, right?”
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 3, 2025
It’s a depiction of the last meal that Jesus shares with his disciples, and Leonardo uses the mural to tell a story about how the disciple Judas betrays Jesus.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
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.
