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 blamelessJohnnie L. RobertsA 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
Richard CohenExamples of altar boy in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Christopher Boyce and Andrew Daulton Lee were childhood friends, altar boys raised in the Catholic pews and prosperous suburbs of the Palos Verdes Peninsula.
—Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
His career in the Catholic Church began at a young age when he was selected to become an altar boy at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Chicago.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 8 May 2025
How a pair of Palos Verdes altar boys grew up to be Soviet spies.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2025
Back in the 1980s, Nicanor Palacios was an altar boy with Leo during his early priesthood in nearby Piura, and traveled the area with him for services.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN Money, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for altar boy
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Christopher Goffard, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2025
His career in the Catholic Church began at a young age when he was selected to become an altar boy at St. Mary of the Assumption Church in Chicago.
—Ashleigh Fields, The Hill, 8 May 2025
How a pair of Palos Verdes altar boys grew up to be Soviet spies.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 31 May 2025
Back in the 1980s, Nicanor Palacios was an altar boy with Leo during his early priesthood in nearby Piura, and traveled the area with him for services.
—Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN Money, 12 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for altar boy
Cite this Entry
“Altar boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altar%20boy. Accessed 5 Jul. 2025.
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