rabbi

noun

rab·​bi ˈra-ˌbī 

1

: master, teacher

—used by Jews as a term of address

2

: a Jew qualified to expound and apply the halacha and other Jewish law

3

: a Jew trained and ordained for professional religious leadership

specifically : the official leader of a Jewish congregation

Examples of rabbi in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

What happened to Esther Lebowitz? On Sept. 29, 1969, a rabbi gave Lebowitz and two other children a ride home from school. —Lynsey Eidell, Peoplemag, 20 July 2024

Members of the police department’s executive team and command staff have met with the synagogue’s rabbi and are planning to stay in contact, according to police. —Jason Green, The Mercury News, 9 July 2024

Alissa Wise, a rabbi from Philadelphia who founded the group Rabbis for Ceasefire, voted for Fetterman in 2022. —Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 24 June 2024

Safed’s right-wing chief rabbi, Shmuel Eliyahu, has a long history of pushing for Jews to expel Arabs outright (his office declined interview requests), but Mr. Ben-Ari seemed heartbroken by his own personal shift. —Damien Cave Amit Elkayam, New York Times, 23 May 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English, from Late Latin, from Greek rhabbi, from Hebrew rabbī my master, from rabh master + -ī my

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

rabbi

noun

rab·​bi ˈrab-ˌī 

1

: master entry 1 sense 1a, teacher

—used as a term of address for Jewish religious leaders

2

: a professionally trained leader of a Jewish congregation

rabbinic

rə-ˈbin-ik

ra-

adjective

or rabbinical

-i-kəl

Etymology

Old English rabbi "term of address used for Jewish religious leaders," from Latin rabbi (same meaning), from Greek rhabbi (same meaning), from Hebrew rabbī "my master," from rabh "master" and the suffix -ī "my"