preach

verb

\ ˈprēch

preached; preaching; preaches

Definition of preach

1 : to deliver a sermon

2 : to urge acceptance or abandonment of an idea or course of action specifically : to exhort in an officious or tiresome manner

transitive verb

1 : to set forth in a sermon preach the gospel

2 : to advocate earnestly preached revolution

3 : to deliver (something, such as a sermon) publicly

4 : to bring, put, or affect by preaching preached the … church out of debt — Amer. Guide Series: Va.

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Examples of preach in a Sentence

Have you ever heard that minister preach? The minister preached to the congregation about the need for tolerance. His followers listened to him preach the gospel. The priest preached a regular sermon that Sunday. Their mother has always preached the value of a good education. Practice what you preach—don't smoke if you tell your children not to smoke. The mayor continues to preach about the need for patience. I don't like being preached at about how I should live my life.

Recent Examples on the Web

The director of Transportation for Massachusetts, an advocacy group, preached his time-of-day-pricing gospel to the real estate crowd Thursday during a panel discussion at a Bisnow conference in the Seaport. — BostonGlobe.com, "Partners in Health puts a nurse in charge, globally," 18 June 2019 John Africa preached an anarcho-primitivist gospel of natural living, love for every living being, and advocated for a return to a hunter-gatherer society. — Kim Kelly, Teen Vogue, "The History of the Black Radical Group MOVE and Its Infamous Bombing by Police," 17 May 2019 Looking to reverse dwindling membership, Church leaders are launching a new outreach to other Christian congregations, in a move that could bring some Holy Rolling, New World preaching styles to its venerable halls of stone and sacrament. — Robert Stevens, Fox News, "Church of England seeks revival in newer Christian faiths," 5 July 2018 Looking to reverse dwindling membership, Church leaders are launching a new outreach to other Christian congregations, in a move that could bring some Holy Rolling, New World preaching styles to its venerable halls of stone and sacrament. — Robert Stevens, The Christian Science Monitor, "Church of England's outreach effort may mean end of 'snobbishness'," 5 July 2018 On Thursday, many of the candidates were - with apologies to Dawson - preaching to the choir. — Leada Gore, AL.com, "Alabama's second Republican gubernatorial debate: Who won?," 18 Apr. 2018 This leads to more questions than answers for Pearson, who, shortly afterward, has his own faith rocked to the core by the Rwandan genocide and sets him on a path to navigate the truth while still having to preach the good word to his congregation. — Andreas Hale, The Root, "Chiwetel Ejiofor Delivers Oscar-Worthy Performance in Come Sunday at Sundance," 13 Feb. 2018 The most important part of ministry isn’t necessarily preaching, but listening. — Tara Isabella Burton, Vox, "How faith leaders respond to tragedies like the California wildfires," 21 Nov. 2018 Minter’s is an unsubtle art that preaches to the choir. — Charles Desmarais, SFChronicle.com, "Charles Desmarais’ art picks for June 24," 22 June 2018

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