pope

noun

ˈpōp 

1

often Pope : a prelate who as bishop of Rome is the head of the Roman Catholic Church

2

: one that resembles a pope (as in authority)

3

a

: the Eastern Orthodox or Coptic patriarch of Alexandria

b

: a priest of an Eastern church

Examples of pope in a Sentence

The cardinals elected a new pope.

Recent Examples on the Web

And the new pope was well received by many in Lebanon, a country still being bombed by Israel. —Alexander Smith, NBC news, 3 Dec. 2025

The pope, appearing moved, evoked his predecessor Pope Francis, who had stressed that Christians could not remain indifferent to tragedy and sorrow. —NPR, 1 Dec. 2025

Yurachek posted a video on X of Razorback Stadium that was digitally altered to show red smoke coming up early in the noon hour, a nod to the naming of popes, to announce a deal had been struck, and the university put out an official release shortly thereafter. —Tom Murphy, Arkansas Online, 30 Nov. 2025

More spectators gathered inside palace grounds in the hopes of spotting the pope, donning plastic raincoats under a gray sky. —Billy Stockwell, CNN Money, 30 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English pāpa, from Late Latin papa, from Greek pappas, papas, title of bishops, literally, papa

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for pope

• cope
• dope
• grope
• lope
• mope
• nope
• rope
• scope
• shope
• slope
• soap
• stope

Kids Definition

pope

noun

ˈpōp 

often capitalized

: the head of the Roman Catholic Church

Biographical Definition

Pope 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈpōp 

Alexander 1688–1744 English poet

Popian

ˈpō-pē-ən 

adjective

or less commonly Popean

Pope

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

John 1822–1892 American general