altar boy

noun

1

: a boy who assists the celebrant in a liturgical service

2

chiefly US : a morally pure and virtuous person

No one expects … the trendsetter and party animal to become an altar boy.

—Johnnie L. Roberts

—typically used in negative constructions to describe a man whose behavior is not entirely admirable or blameless

A long time ago she married a man who turns out, by his own admission, to be somewhat dishonest—not a killer, not a dope peddler, but no altar boy, either.

—Richard Cohen

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Another Baltimore victim, who reported that Father Joseph Davies repeatedly raped him as an altar boy in the 1950s, attempted suicide in high school. —Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2023

Primal Fear presented audiences with a stunning major debut performance by Edward Norton as a young altar boy, Aaron, accused of murdering an archbishop. —Jacob Linden, Men's Health, 28 Mar. 2023

Then Florance reportedly segued into a slide with a photo of his son as an altar boy at Colin Powell’s funeral. —Curbed, 23 Feb. 2022

In fact, Pope Francis recently called Patriarch Kirill, 'Putin's altar boy' and warned him not to be that close to those political leaders. —CBS News, 6 July 2022

There was the time that Patterson and a fellow altar boy—Patterson grew up in a devoutly Catholic family—almost got caught with a stash of unconsecrated Communion hosts that his friend had squirrelled away for post-Mass snacking. —Laura Miller, The New Yorker, 13 June 2022

Her mother sent her to Catholic school at nearby St. Francis, where James Cagney once served as an altar boy. —Roy Trakin, Variety, 9 June 2022

Buck, who was raised Catholic and served as an altar boy, also was molested by several priests and a monsignor, according to his lawyer. —Matthew Ormsethstaff Writer, Los Angeles Times, 14 Apr. 2022

Brennan had been named in more than 20 abuse complaints during his long church career, and Philadelphia prosecutors charged him in 2013 with raping former altar boy Sean McIlmail in 1998. —Maryclaire Dale, Baltimore Sun, 31 Mar. 2022

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Word History

First Known Use

1772, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

altar boy

noun

: a boy who assists the priest in a church service