celebrant

noun cel·e·brant \ ˈse-lə-brənt \

Definition of celebrant

:one who celebrates; specifically :the priest officiating at the Eucharist

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Examples of celebrant in a Sentence

The bishop will be the main celebrant.
the celebrant of the service
The celebrants lit their candles.

Recent Examples of celebrant from the Web

This Bastille Day, the U.S. no longer felt like a co-celebrant with France, its republican ally.

— rhonda garelick, The Cut, "Why It Matters That Melania Wore Dior in Paris Last Week," 21 July 2017
Auxiliary Bishop Joseph R. Binzer will be the main celebrant and the Rev. Lambert Ulinzwenimana, the parochial vicar of the Winton Wyoming Pastoral Region, will be concelebrating the Mass.

— jennie key, Cincinnati.com, "Driver in crash that killed Father Coleman identified by police," 17 July 2017
As the silver and gold traditions spread, celebrants — and shopkeepers — looked for parallel ways to mark earlier anniversaries too.

— merrill fabry, Time, "Now You Know: Why Are There Special Gifts for Each Anniversary Year?," 6 July 2017
July 4 celebrants spent more than $1 billion on beer and an estimated $568 million on wine in 2016, the financial Web site WalletHub found.

— zlati meyer, USA TODAY, "Americans spend big on booze, beef on July 4," 4 July 2017
The groom’s mother is a wedding and life-cycle celebrant.

— New York Times, "Andrea Goldberg, Jeremy Zaro," 2 July 2017
Celebrants included George Carlin, Jay Leno, Albert Brooks, Harry Shearer, Shelly Berman, Drew Carey, Jonathan Winters and Richard Lewis.

— rick kogan, chicagotribune.com, "'Last Man Standing' is new bio of Mort Sahl, comic who started the revolution," 26 June 2017
Every year the anniversary generates emotional responses from both celebrants of China’s post-colonial resurgence and protesters worried about Hong Kong’s future as a beacon of capitalism, free speech and the rule of law.

— david tweed, Bloomberg.com, "How Chinese Rule Has Changed Hong Kong Since 1997," 15 June 2017
The parade often picks up celebrants along the way.

— christina mayo, miamiherald, "Branches benefit raises over $370,000 for children in need," 7 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'celebrant.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of celebrant

borrowed from Latin celebrant-, celebrans, present participle of celebrāre "to throng, frequent, observe (an occasion, festivity), praise" — more at celebrate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1624

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