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
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
John Grisham
c
: one who inculcates or exhorts something earnestly or officiously
… he was an ardent preacher of gentlemanly ethics …—Paul Schullery
Paul Schullery… he was perceived by the larger world, not inaccurately, as a preacher of the hatred.—Nicholas Lemann
Nicholas LemannExamples of preacher in a Sentence
the marriage will be performed by our usual preacher
Recent Examples on the Web
Studio executives might not have had much interest in listening to a preacher from Tupelo, but parent companies could be threatened with viewer anger.
—Isaac Butler, New Yorker, 30 May 2026
In another era, Pratt would have been a welcome edition to the roster of bombastic Southern California preachers a la Aimee Semple McPherson, Chuck Smith and Gene Scott, as well as radio titans such as George Putnam and John Kobylt.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026
Located on the South Island of New Zealand, the Gloriavale Christian Community was founded in 1969 by a traveling preacher with extremely fundamentalist ideas; women are subservient to men, all citizens wear uniforms, and people who leave are shunned forever.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 29 May 2026
The siblings had been brainwashed, abused and groomed while growing up in a cult led by Bernie Hoffman, an apocalyptic preacher and false prophet known to the world as Tony Alamo.
—Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for preacher
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.
Isaac Butler, New Yorker, 30 May 2026
In another era, Pratt would have been a welcome edition to the roster of bombastic Southern California preachers a la Aimee Semple McPherson, Chuck Smith and Gene Scott, as well as radio titans such as George Putnam and John Kobylt.
—Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2026
Located on the South Island of New Zealand, the Gloriavale Christian Community was founded in 1969 by a traveling preacher with extremely fundamentalist ideas; women are subservient to men, all citizens wear uniforms, and people who leave are shunned forever.
—K. Thor Jensen, PC Magazine, 29 May 2026
The siblings had been brainwashed, abused and groomed while growing up in a cult led by Bernie Hoffman, an apocalyptic preacher and false prophet known to the world as Tony Alamo.
—Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 28 May 2026
See All Example Sentences for preacher
Cite this Entry
“Preacher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preacher. Accessed 4 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
