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

Bell, meanwhile, costars with Adam Brody in Nobody Wants This; the series follows an American rabbi (Brody, 45) and an agnostic woman who embark on a romantic relationship despite the odds against them. —Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 15 Sep. 2025

Szames, his mother, brother, sister and a rabbi and his five children all hid there until Szames and his family were to move to another location with another family. —Ashley MacKin Solomon, San Diego Union-Tribune, 11 Sep. 2025

Brody plays a hot rabbi who falls for Bell’s raunchy gentile podcaster, but their relationship could be doomed by their cultural differences in season two. —Tolly Wright, Vulture, 8 Sep. 2025

The Tennessean sat down with Schiftan, 65, who retired as senior rabbi from The Temple in Nashville, and Boehm, 85, who retired from Vanderbilt University Medical Center, to talk about their friendship and their project. —Brad Schmitt, The Tennessean, 28 Aug. 2025

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

Rhymes for rabbi

• apply
• awry
• belie
• bely
• bigeye
• bonsai
• buckeye
• comply
• coxae
• decry
• defy
• deny

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"