preacher

noun

preach·​er ˈprē-chər 

plural preachers

: one who preaches: such as

a

: a person who delivers a sermon publicly

a street preacher

b

: one whose function is to preach sermons : pastor, minister

She waited patiently on a Sunday morning until the crowd had said good-by to the preacher.

—Don Jeffries

"What kind of preacher are you? What denomination?" "I was ordained in a Baptist church, but I'm sort of nondenominational now."

—John Grisham

c

: one who inculcates or exhorts something earnestly or officiously

… he was an ardent preacher of gentlemanly ethics …

—Paul Schullery

… he was perceived by the larger world, not inaccurately, as a preacher of the hatred.

—Nicholas Lemann

Synonyms

• clergyperson
• cleric
• clerical
• clerk
• deacon
• divine
• dominie
• ecclesiastic
• minister
• priest
• reverend

Examples of preacher in a Sentence

the marriage will be performed by our usual preacher

Recent Examples on the Web

But while the Gemstones themselves have embraced Kelvin and his coming out, the rest of the world — particularly rival preacher Vance Simkins (Stephen Dorff), Kelvin’s competition for the ridiculous title of Top Christ-Following Man — is more critical. —Alison Herman, Variety, 21 Apr. 2025

Preacher Boy shows off his heavenly voice and affinity for jazz music, but his father, an actual preacher, rebukes the genre as the devil’s music, like most good Christians did back then. —Kathleen Newman-Bremang, Refinery29, 18 Apr. 2025

According to right-wing evangelical preacher Andrew Isker, yes. —James Factora, Them., 11 Apr. 2025

The preacher and producer has been dating his soon-to-be wife for a year. —Elizabeth Ayoola, Essence, 14 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for preacher

• bleacher
• creature
• feature
• reacher
• teacher
• schoolteacher

Kids Definition

preacher

noun

preach·​er

ˈprē-chər

: one that preaches

especially : minister entry 1 sense 1b