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

Leaders such as Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington DC and Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago have been speaking out strongly on migration, but the forthcoming elections and the pope’s appointments to the US church hierarchy will be crucial. —Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 8 Nov. 2025

And, in Edinburgh, the especially brave get the chance to play bagpipes with Scotland’s national piper, Louise Marshall, who has entertained queens, popes, and celebrities. —Fran Golden, AFAR Media, 6 Nov. 2025

The pope expressed that immigrants should be allowed to receive Communion. —Julia Marnin, Kansas City Star, 5 Nov. 2025

Ahead of the critical matchup, a collection of officials from Buffalo’s Catholic diocese happened to visit Pope Leo XIV this week, and presented the American pope a Bills jersey. —Andrew Greif, NBC news, 2 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