high priest

American  

noun

1. a chief priest.

2. Judaism. (from Aaronic times to about the 1st century a.d.) the priest ranking above all other priests and the only one permitted to enter the holy of holies.

3. Informal. a person in a high position of power or influence, especially one who is revered as a preeminent authority or interpreter.

   the high priest of the young painters.

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high priest British  

noun

1. Judaism the priest of highest rank who alone was permitted to enter the holy of holies of the tabernacle and Temple

2. Mormon Church a priest of the order of Melchizedek priesthood

3. Also (feminine): high priestess.  the head of a group or cult

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Other Word Forms

• high priesthood noun

Etymology

Origin of high priest

1350–1400; Middle English heiye prest

Example Sentences

The high priest of the S&P 500 index.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 3, 2026

She also included a BBC News Instagram post quoting the Daily Telegraph's Ed Power, who wrote: "Ryan Murphy is the high priest of tacky tasteless television, and this year he has outdone himself."

From BBC • Nov. 7, 2025

Suddenly, Jackson’s career was kicked into the stratosphere and Jones was regarded as the high priest of pop music.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 4, 2024

A few years before, in 1984, my church took a busload of kids to see Mike Warnke, a former Satanist high priest who had converted to Christianity.

From Salon • Oct. 21, 2023

And in the years since coming to Washington, George Pocock had quietly become its high priest.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown