preacher

noun

preach·​er ˈprē-chər How to pronounce preacher (audio)
plural preachers
Synonyms of preachernext
: 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

Examples of preacher in a Sentence

the marriage will be performed by our usual preacher
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
No one knows why; no one has a telephone in the rural Blue Ridge Mountains, so John Boy sets out into a winter storm to find his daddy, having various escapades with the quirky residents of their backwoods community—a Black preacher, a pair of old-lady bootleggers, a turkey thief—along the way. Literary Hub, 22 Dec. 2025 One celebrates the beauty and moral uplift of the Sabbath; the other denounces the immorality of the godless in the fiery manner of a tent-revival preacher. Judith Shulevitz, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025 The Australian Federal Police are also looking into alleged hate preachers as part of their investigation and will execute further search warrants in the coming days, police commissioner Krissy Barrett said on Thursday. Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 18 Dec. 2025 The accusers described a magnetic preacher who cultivated trust in children and their parents, only to exploit it behind closed doors. Mike Hixenbaugh, NBC news, 17 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for preacher

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of preacher was in the 13th century

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Preacher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preacher. Accessed 28 Dec. 2025.

Kids Definition

preacher

noun
preach·​er
ˈprē-chər
: one that preaches

More from Merriam-Webster on preacher

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