saint

American  

[seynt] / seɪnt /

noun

saints plural

1. any of certain persons of exceptional holiness of life, formally recognized as such by the Christian Church, especially by canonization.

2. a person of great holiness, virtue, or benevolence.

3. a founder, sponsor, or patron, as of a movement or organization.

4. (in certain religious groups) a designation applied by the members to themselves.

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verb (used with object)

saints, present (3rd person singular) sainted, past participle, past sainting present participle

1. to enroll formally among the saints recognized by the Church.

2. to give the name of saint to; reckon as a saint.

saint British  

/ seɪnt, sənt /

noun

1. a person who after death is formally recognized by a Christian Church, esp the Roman Catholic Church, as having attained, through holy deeds or behaviour, a specially exalted place in heaven and the right to veneration

2. a person of exceptional holiness or goodness

3. (plural) Bible the collective body of those who are righteous in God's sight

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verb

1. (tr) to canonize; recognize formally as a saint

saint Cultural  

1. In Christianity, a holy person, living or dead; a person who has been saved (see salvation) (see also salvation). Saint is the French word for “holy.” Many churches reserve the title of saint for persons who have died faithful to their Christian commitment. The Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church require certain procedures before people can be officially named saints; this procedure is called canonization.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• saintdom
  noun
• supersaint
  noun
• saintless
  adjective
• saintlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• saints
  plural

Participles

• sainting
  present
• sainted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• saint
  simple
• saints
  simple
• have sainted
  perfect
• has sainted
  perfect
• am sainting
  progressive
• are sainting
  progressive
• is sainting
  progressive
• have been sainting
  perfect progressive
• has been sainting
  perfect progressive

Past

• sainted
  simple
• had sainted
  perfect
• was sainting
  progressive
• were sainting
  progressive
• had been sainting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will saint
  simple
• will have sainted
  perfect
• will be sainting
  progressive
• will have been sainting
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of saint

before 1000; Middle English (noun and v.) < Old French (noun) < Latin sānctus sacred, adj. use of past participle of sancīre to consecrate, equivalent to sanc- (akin to sacer sacred ) + -tus past participle suffix; replacing Old English sanct < Latin, as above

Explanation

A saint is a person who is very holy — or just very good. If you gave all your money away to charity, some people might consider you a saint. Saint can refer to a person who is officially recognized as holy within a particular faith or religion. However, any person who is considered deeply religious or especially generous could be called a saint. You might say that someone is a saint if they go to religious services every day, or if they spend a lot of time volunteering at a school or at a hospital.

Example Sentences

He wants to use the the tool to help make his feature-length film called “Sebastian,” about a Christian saint set in 3rd century Rome.

From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 3, 2026

Who is the patron saint of lost causes?

From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026

Since then, other revelations have further tarnished the legacy of the Chicano labor and civil rights leader long considered a secular saint.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 19, 2026

They go off during summer festas, after Mass on big saint days, and, it turns out, when the governing party wins reelection.

From Slate • Jun. 6, 2026

His few possessions were treated like the bones of a saint.

From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day