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

A onetime seminarian — he left three years shy of being ordained a Catholic priest — Reilly was no saint.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

This clothing, says Mr. Robbins, identifies the latter as the evangelist St. Luke, patron saint of artists.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 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

But England is a nation divided over its identity and even over how to celebrate its patron saint.

From BBC ● Jun. 5, 2026

Not a saint, not by a long shot.

From "A Very Large Expanse of Sea" by Tahereh Mafi

As I stared into empty niches that once contained massive wooden statues of saints, I meditated on how fragile our democracy is.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 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

Christian figures who embody ideals of goodness and holiness – saints, Mary and even Jesus – are the ones who rule the runway.

From Salon ● May 17, 2026

“When I look up, I see people cashing in. I don’t see heaven or saints or angels. I see people cashing in on every decent impulse and every human tragedy.”

From "Catch-22" by Joseph Heller

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2025

Every few years, Americans across the country are beleaguered with a Herculean task usually reserved for the sainted: They must think about Canada.

From Slate ● Jan. 7, 2025

This she did share with Queen Victoria, who held séances, yearning for a little chat with her beloved ectoplasmic late husband, the sainted Prince Albert.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2024

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

From Salon ● Sep. 13, 2024

Water Island is supposed to be a part of the United States Virgin Islands, but we were never sainted like Saint Thomas or Saint John or Saint Croix, and so everyone forgets we exist.

From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender

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

From Moores Fables for the Female Sex by Moore, Edward Caldwell

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 Parker, Theodore