imam

noun

i-ˈmäm 

ē-, 

-ˈmam 

variants often Imam

1

: the prayer leader of a mosque

2

: a Muslim leader of the line of Ali held by Shiites to be the divinely appointed, sinless, infallible successors of Muhammad

3

: any of various rulers that claim descent from Muhammad and exercise spiritual and temporal leadership over a Muslim region

Examples of imam in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Leo is to preside over a peace meeting involving a Mankon traditional chief, a Presbyterian moderator, an imam and a Catholic nun. —ABC News, 16 Apr. 2026

Leo presided over a peace meeting involving a Mankon traditional chief, a Presbyterian moderator, an imam and a Catholic nun. —Nicole Winfield, Los Angeles Times, 16 Apr. 2026

During the confrontation, Hussein and his followers were massacred, but the imam’s quest for justice became a defining value of Shiite identity, fostering a sense of revolutionary duty to fight oppressors at any cost. —Sudarsan Raghavan, New Yorker, 7 Apr. 2026

Speakers at her funeral, including her father, Helal Ahmed, who is the mosque’s imam, shared emotional tributes. —Nicholas Williams, New York Daily News, 1 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Arabic imām

First Known Use

1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1