lectern
Americannoun
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lecterns
plural
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a reading desk in a church on which the Bible rests and from which the lessons are read during the church service.
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a stand with a slanted top, used to hold a book, speech, manuscript, etc., at the proper height for a reader or speaker.
noun
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a reading desk or support in a church
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any similar desk or support
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lectern
1275–1325; earlier lectron ( e ), late Middle English lectryn < Medieval Latin lēctrīnum, derivative of lēctrum lectern, equivalent to Latin leg ( ere ) to read + -trum instrumental suffix; replacing Middle English letroun, lettorne < Middle French letrun < Medieval Latin lēctrum, as above
Explanation
When the President of The United States gives a speech, he often stands at a wooden lectern featuring the presidential seal. A lectern is a stand on which you can place notes or papers while you lecture. Lecterns often feature a sloped top and a little lamp to make reading from a paper or notes easier. The word lectern comes from the Latin word legere which means "to read." Lecterns serve another purpose for nervous readers — they offer a good hiding place for shaking hands.
Vocabulary lists containing lectern
The Contender
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The View from Saturday
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The Fault in Our Stars
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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.
See Examples For:
Asked about the lawsuit during questioning, Turner said, “We’re working on that right now,” then shifted to a brown lunch bag pulled from the lectern from which he extracted several items.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026
Standing at the lectern outside his front door, he said: "Walking up this street two years ago was the proudest moment of my life."
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
Residents lined up at the wooden lectern to speak in three-minute slots, many invoking the less-than-savory reputation man camps earned in Wyoming’s boom-and-bust past.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 9, 2026
So when Torres took the lectern in Garden Grove, he wasn’t just there as an elected official.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 28, 2026
Isaac stood behind a little wooden lectern, clinging to it.
From "The Fault in Our Stars" by John Green
Charred furniture, lecterns and smoky curls of carpet are piled around the entrance - its guts emptied, and debris cleared, in time for Friday prayers.
From BBC ● Nov. 14, 2025
The two leaders gave opening remarks from lecterns on opposite sides of the stage.
From Reuters ● Nov. 18, 2023
Newsom said it’s clear that Californians are “a little exhausted” with watching politicians at lecterns talk about fixing the problem.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2023
The boxy dark blue and dark paneled lecterns — there are many — are a symbol of the modern presidency.
From Seattle Times ● Oct. 11, 2022
These lecterns are of oak, 6 feet 7 inches long, and 7 feet high, measured to the top of the ornamental finial.
From The Care of Books by John Willis Clark
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.
