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
• outsaint
  verb (used with object)
• 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

See Examples For:

saint saints sainted sainting

Magical realism was in its heyday, and Gabriel García Márquez was becoming its patron saint.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Ceuta's regional government cancelled the city's annual patron saint festivities, which were due to begin on Saturday, due to the "current circumstances".

From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026

Davies also paid tribute to the Marie Curie nurses who supported Smith during the final weeks of his life and said their support was like having a "saint visiting the house".

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

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

My mother said the Virgin was the saint of our land, and although there were many other good saints, I loved none as dearly as the Virgin.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Every religion needs its saints, and mine wore number 12.

From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026

Vietnam has had 117 people beatified and later canonised as saints, but the Church said this was the first time a beatification ceremony had been held in the country rather than at the Vatican.

From Barron's ● Jul. 2, 2026

None of them are saints, and they’re not necessarily Goody Two-shoes.

From Slate ● Jun. 2, 2026

Threaded through the narrative, as contrast and commentary, is a martyrology of female saints.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026

Can you imagine how the most pious king in the history of France would feel about sharing a cart with living, breathing saints?

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

Cheering would have been the sainted Leon Panetta, former congressman, defense secretary and CIA chief.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

In his travels, Tocqueville saw pieces of the famous Plymouth Rock all over: used as doorstops, as paperweights, set in the centers of mantels like the mandibles of sainted martyrs.

From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2024

Even the sainted John McCain and Ronald Reagan failed in their first attempts.

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2024

The sainted man kindly directed my husband to a urinal and then escorted him outside, handing me his clothing with sympathy and obvious relief.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2021

“Ah,” Mary Anne mocked, “the voice of sublime perfection. Was that the godly one? The sainted brother? The perfect son?”

From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy

Here is ... the sainting of two horrid conspirators!

From The Trial of Theodore Parker For the "Misdemeanor" of a Speech in Faneuil Hall against Kidnapping, before the Circuit Court of the United States, at Boston, April 3, 1855, with the Defence by Theodore Parker

O, such a pretty knack at painting, And all for soft’ning, and for sainting!

From Moores Fables for the Female Sex by Edward Caldwell Moore