preach

American  

[preech] / pritʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to proclaim or make known by sermon (the gospel, good tidings, etc.).

2. to deliver (a sermon).

3. to advocate or inculcate (religious or moral truth, right conduct, etc.) in speech or writing.

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verb (used without object)

1. to deliver a sermon.

2. to give earnest advice, as on religious or moral subjects or the like.

   Synonyms:

   expound, pronounce, profess, advocate

3. to give earnest advice in an obtrusive or tedious way.

idioms

1. preach to the choir. preach to the choir.

preach British  

/ priːtʃ /

verb

1. to make known (religious truth) or give religious or moral instruction or exhortation in (sermons)

2. to advocate (a virtue, action, etc), esp in a moralizing way

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preach More Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing preach

• practice what you preach

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Other Word Forms

• outpreach verb (used with object)
• preachable adjective
• unpreached adjective

Etymology

Origin of preach

1175–1225; Middle English prechen < Old French pre ( ë ) chier < Late Latin praedicāre to preach ( Latin: to assert publicly, proclaim). See predicate

Example Sentences

“Elegance is learned my friends. Elegance is learned, oh yeah,” the lyrics of her song preach.

From Salon

One Connecticut pastor in 1784 preached a sermon that compared the Continental Army’s soldiers’ deaths to martyrs whose blood should “be ever treated as sacred.”

From The Wall Street Journal

Football coaches constantly preach the mantra “next man up,” but San Francisco is taking it to a new extreme.

From The Wall Street Journal

But experts who work with children say that there is a long way to go before the system can properly implement the ideals the law preaches.

From BBC

They have preached the America First philosophy seriously over the years, with both denouncing the Iran strikes last summer.

From Salon

Related Words

• exhort
• teach