pedestal

[ped-uh-stl]

noun

1. an architectural support for a column, statue, vase, or the like.

2. a supporting structure or piece; base.

3. Furniture.

   1. a support for a desk, consisting of a boxlike frame containing drawers one above the other.

   2. a columnar support for a tabletop.

4. Building Trades.,  a bulge cast at the bottom of a concrete pile.

verb (used with object)

pedestaled, pedestaling , pedestalled, pedestalling .

1. to put on or supply with a pedestal.

pedestal

/ ˈpɛdɪstəl /

noun

1. a base that supports a column, statue, etc, as used in classical architecture

2. a position of eminence or supposed superiority (esp in the phrases place, put, or set on a pedestal )

3. 1. either of a pair of sets of drawers used as supports for a writing surface

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pedestal desk

Other Word Forms

• unpedestal verb (used with object)

Word History and Origins

Origin of pedestal¹

1555–65; alteration of Middle French piedestal < Italian piedestallo, variant of piedistallo literally, foot of stall. See ped- ², de, stall ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of pedestal¹

C16: from French piédestal, from Old Italian piedestallo, from pie foot + di of + stallo a stall

Idioms and Phrases

Idioms

1. set / put on a pedestal, to glorify; idealize.

   When we first became engaged each of us set the other on a pedestal.

see on a pedestal.

Example Sentences

She’s been on the pedestal, built up just so people could smirk when they tore her down.

From Salon

They are the team the others have to knock off that pedestal.

From BBC

“Marvel does not put their characters up on a pedestal,” Wilcox says.

From Los Angeles Times

He has won four consecutive drivers' titles with his current team, but in the past 18 months Red Bull have slipped from their competitive pedestal.

From BBC

Placing perfection on a pedestal relieves the collective anxiety — but prohibits the opportunity — of accepting failure as an integral part of life.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• podium