Ezra

[ez-ruh]

noun

1. a Jewish scribe and prophet of the 5th century b.c., who with Nehemiah led the revival of Judaism in Palestine.

2. a book of the Bible bearing his name. Ezr.

3. a male given name: from a Hebrew word meaning “help.”

Ezra

/ ˈɛzrə /

noun

1. a Jewish priest of the 5th century _bc , who was sent from Babylon by the Persian king Artaxerxes I to reconstitute observance of the Jewish law and worship in Jerusalem after the captivity

2. the book recounting his efforts to perform this task

Word History and Origins

Origin of Ezra¹

From Late Latin Ezras, ulimately from Hebrew ʿezrā “help”

Example Sentences

BEIJING—Under intense pressure from authorities in China, Ezra Jin persisted for years in building one of the nation’s largest underground Christian churches, with branches in 40 cities across the country.

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Political commentator Ezra Klein wrote, “You can dislike much of what Kirk believed and the following statement is still true: Kirk was practicing politics in exactly the right way.”

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Ezra, who now works for Become, a care leavers' charity, first went into care aged nine.

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Notable omissions this year include former winners Little Simz and Ezra Collective, whose albums Lotus and Dance, No-One's Watching were met with rave reviews.

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The Mercury Prize is one of the most prestigious industry awards, celebrating the best British and Irish albums of the year and previous winners include Ezra Collective, Little Simz, Arctic Monkeys, Portishead and Pulp.

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