preacher

noun

preach·​er ˈprē-chər How to pronounce preacher (audio)
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

Examples of preacher in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The state had already failed in its first attempt in 2022 to execute Smith, one of two people to receive the death penalty for the 1988 murder-for-hire plot of a preacher’s wife. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2024 Investigators determined her husband, a preacher named Charles Sennett, who was having an affair and deeply in debt, had taken out an insurance policy on his wife and paid John Forrest Parker and Smith $1,000 each to kill his wife. Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 25 Jan. 2024 Smith, one of two people to receive the death penalty for the 1988 murder-for-hire plot of a preacher’s wife, survived a previous executive attempt in 2022 by lethal injection when officials could not gain access to his veins. Eric Lagatta, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2024 Singer played Ariel Moore, the daughter of local preacher John Lithgow's Reverend Shaw Moore, drawn to McCormack like a moth to a flame. Simon Thompson, Forbes, 16 Feb. 2024 Yet the only speaker from that day who attained near-mythical status was Sojourner Truth, a formerly enslaved traveling preacher from New York State. Cynthia Greenlee, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Feb. 2024 Smith, 58, faces execution for his role in the 1988 murder-for-hire slaying of a preacher’s wife in Colbert County, Alabama. Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 25 Jan. 2024 But his previous ties to radical Islamist preachers have made many voters wary. Sui-Lee Wee, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024 During a special service Sunday morning, a preacher read from Scripture and led prayers as the church sang worship songs. James Hartley, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 5 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'preacher.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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

Dictionary Entries Near preacher

Cite this Entry

“Preacher.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preacher. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

preacher

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

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