holy water

American

noun

water blessed by a priest.

holy water British

noun

water that has been blessed by a priest for use in symbolic rituals of purification

"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 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.

See Examples For:

holy water

They formed a line around the building to be doused with holy water by the parish priest.

From BBC ● Apr. 12, 2026

Someone else suggests summoning a priest and holy water.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025

Cancro blessed it, sprinkling holy water both inside and out.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 19, 2024

The holy water is in a Styrofoam cup.

From New York Times ● Nov. 9, 2023

At least Mom let us leave without dumping a vat of holy water on June.

From "P.S. I Miss You" by Jen Petro-Roy

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023