Pharaoh
noun
a title of an ancient Egyptian king.
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Pharaoh
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pharaoh
pharaohThe title of the kings of ancient Egypt (see also Egypt). In the story of Joseph and his brothers, a pharaoh puts Joseph in charge of his entire kingdom. In the Book of Exodus, a pharaoh repeatedly refuses the request of Moses to let the Israelites leave the country and does not give in until after the worst of the ten plagues of Egypt.
Pharaoh
American
[fair-oh, far-oh, fey-roh]
/ ˈfɛər oʊ, ˈfær oʊ, ˈfeɪ roʊ /
noun
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Pharaohs
plural
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a title of an ancient Egyptian king.
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(lowercase) any person who uses power or authority to oppress others; tyrant.
Pharaoh
British
/ ˈfɛərəʊ, fɛəˈrɒnɪk /
noun
pharaoh
Cultural
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of Pharaoh
before 900; Middle English Pharao, Old English Pharaon < Latin pharaō < Greek pharaṓ (stem pharaōn- ) < Hebrew phārʿōh < Egyptian pr house + ʿʾ great; originally a designation for the palace, but used to refer to the king from the time of Akhenaton (14th cent. b.c.); -h restored from Hebrew
Explanation
In ancient Egypt, a king was known as a pharaoh. Ramses the Great, one of the most powerful pharaohs, ruled Egypt for almost 70 years. The pharaohs played important roles in both religious and everyday life — they were viewed as emissaries between mortals and gods. These monarchs were also military commanders, landowners, and tax collectors. The spiritual component of a pharaoh's job included choosing sites for new temples and leading religious ceremonies. Today, we know several pharaohs mainly from their mummified remains found in tombs by archaeologists. Pharaoh comes from an Egyptian root meaning "great house."
Vocabulary lists containing pharaoh
Commonly Misspelled Words, List 4
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Passover Vocabulary
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Ancient Egypt and Kush, Lessons 1–3
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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:
For a man who considers himself the greatest builder the world has ever known — move over, Pharaoh Khufu!
From Salon ● Jul. 19, 2026
The radiocarbon ages for the Santorini event were markedly older than the first radiocarbon dates obtained for artifacts associated with Pharaoh Ahmose and those from the 17th to early 18th Dynasty.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 7, 2025
Do we turn around and fight the Pharaoh on the shores of the Red Sea, or do we cross?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2025
Overall he's in favour of the changes in Pharaoh, but says it's important that accuracy doesn't get in the way of fun.
From BBC ● Dec. 1, 2023
Now, for example, I would be reassuring the Pharaoh that the flood was a gift from the gods, that once it receded, the rich black earth of the delta would bring forth abundant grain.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
Historical brain teasers: Do you know which pharaoh the Great Pyramid of Giza was constructed for?
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
Stasevska was born in 1984, the same year that Glass’ hypnotic, ritualistic opera, about an Egyptian pharaoh who dared to push monotheism onto his polytheistic culture, debuted in Stuttgart, Germany.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 27, 2026
A thousand small cylindrical acrylic mirrors planted in the sand compose a Morse code poem imagining a dialogue between Tangun, the legendary founder of the first Korean kingdom, and an Egyptian pharaoh.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2025
Among the GEM showstoppers are a 3,200-year-old, 16m-long suspended obelisk of the powerful pharaoh, Ramesses II, and his massive 11m-high statue.
From BBC ● Oct. 31, 2025
“If I had not thrown your drawings out the window,” she replied, “the pharaoh would never have noticed your ability to make pictures.”
From "The (Mostly) True Story of Cleopatra's Needle" by Dan Gutman
A sea of fans dressed in red, white and black filled the grounds outside the airport in El-Alamein, where the Pharaohs boarded an open-top bus for a parade through the coastal city.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
In the second half, Mostafa Zico made it 2-0 to Egypt, moments after the Pharaohs had a goal disallowed by instant replay for a foul that occurred at the other end of the pitch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 7, 2026
The Pharaohs have won a record seven Africa Cup of Nations titles but have only appeared at three previous World Cup tournaments, in 1934, 1990 and 2018.
From BBC ● Apr. 22, 2026
"I have won almost every honour, but this is the one I am waiting for," said Salah after the quarter-final win over Ivory Coast, before insisting the Pharaohs are now the outsiders.
From Barron's ● Jan. 11, 2026
“If the Pharaohs of Egypt were content to be represented by a scarab, so am I,” he said.
From "The Subtle Knife" by Philip Pullman
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.
