holy water
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of holy water
before 900; Middle English haliwater, Old English hāligwæter
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.
McAleese carries holy water and offers to pray with any one who seeks prayer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 26, 2025
This history of the vending machine can be traced, in some form or another, to first-century Egypt, where, legend has it, the first vending machine–type contraption gave out holy water in exchange for a coin.
From Slate ● Feb. 1, 2025
The holy water is in a Styrofoam cup.
From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2023
A priest who rode on an off-road motorcycle scattering holy water after a funeral has been criticised by his diocese.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2023
When the priest stepped down and walked around the coffin sprinkling holy water at the four corners of it, a woman sitting across the aisle sobbed wildly.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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.
