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

The occasion was the pope’s annual audience with the Vatican diplomatic corps, which traditionally amounts to his yearly foreign policy address. —Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 9 Jan. 2026

But the late pontiff also did not hold many formal meetings with the College of Cardinals, something which cardinals said a future pope should change during meetings held before the last conclave. —Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 9 Jan. 2026

The last jubilee held under two different popes was in the year 1700, when Innocent XII opened the Holy Year that was then closed by Clement XI. —Landon Mion, FOXNews.com, 7 Jan. 2026

Joseph Stalin is famously said to have asked how many divisions the pope had. —Graeme Wood, The Atlantic, 3 Jan. 2026

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