Illustration of censer
censer
noun
cen·ser
ˈsen(t)-sər 
: a vessel for burning incense
especially
: a covered incense burner swung on chains in a religious ritual
Examples of censer in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Martha says, waving a smoking censer back and forth over the golden flowers that snake from the garden gate into the parlor of her childhood home.
—
Rocío Muñoz-Ledo, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
This particular censer once sat in the real Schlitz Palm Garden.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 14 Apr. 2025
The clanging of heavy weight in motion is like the clinking of a priest’s censer, releasing a cloud of incense, which enters the nooks and crannies of one’s life and infuses them with a certain power.
—Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
From behind the counter, the cashier pulled forth a large brass hanging censer.
—Myriam Gurba, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023
At the outset, a massive censer swung slowly like a pendulum over the stage to the toll of a distant bell, leaving a trail of smoke that settled into the misty forest where the lovers discover each other.
—Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2022
When the curtain went up, an immense censer slowly swung above the stage like a pendulum, and for a couple of minutes the only sound in the house was the tolling of a funeral bell.
—Vulture, 1 Mar. 2022
That airless environment of secrecy and subterfuge is thick with smoke that emanates first from a censer hanging center stage before the play begins and then clogs the sepulchral shafts of John Torres' expressive lighting throughout.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2020
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Rocío Muñoz-Ledo, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2025
This particular censer once sat in the real Schlitz Palm Garden.
—Jim Higgins, jsonline.com, 14 Apr. 2025
The clanging of heavy weight in motion is like the clinking of a priest’s censer, releasing a cloud of incense, which enters the nooks and crannies of one’s life and infuses them with a certain power.
—Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024
From behind the counter, the cashier pulled forth a large brass hanging censer.
—Myriam Gurba, Los Angeles Times, 17 May 2023
At the outset, a massive censer swung slowly like a pendulum over the stage to the toll of a distant bell, leaving a trail of smoke that settled into the misty forest where the lovers discover each other.
—Washington Post, 1 Mar. 2022
When the curtain went up, an immense censer slowly swung above the stage like a pendulum, and for a couple of minutes the only sound in the house was the tolling of a funeral bell.
—Vulture, 1 Mar. 2022
That airless environment of secrecy and subterfuge is thick with smoke that emanates first from a censer hanging center stage before the play begins and then clogs the sepulchral shafts of John Torres' expressive lighting throughout.
—David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Feb. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Censer.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/censer. Accessed 19 Jan. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
censer
noun
cen·ser
ˈsen(t)-sər
: a container in which incense is burned
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