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Order and ritual are very important in the seder—so important that they are even reflected in its name: the English word seder is a transliteration of the Hebrew word sēdher, meaning “order.” The courses in the meal, as well as blessings, prayers, stories, and songs, are recorded in the Haggadah, a book that lays out the order of the Passover feast and recounts the story of Exodus. Each food consumed as part of the seder recalls an aspect of the Israelites’ 13th century BCE exodus from Egypt. For instance, matzo (unleavened bread) represents the haste with which the Israelites fled; maror (a mix of bitter herbs) recalls the bitterness of enslaved life; and a mixture of fruits and nuts called charoset (also rendered as charoses or haroset/haroses) symbolizes the clay or mortar the Israelites worked with during their Egyptian enslavement.
Examples of seder in a Sentence
Fabienne Perlov, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2026
Are there seders in Des Moines?
—Lucia Cheng, Des Moines Register, 1 Apr. 2026
Once the big seder is over, there’s still a week of meals to plan for.
—Becky Krystal, Washington Post, 31 Mar. 2026
Each year during Passover, at the seder meal, celebrants of the Jewish holiday recite the Ten Plagues of Egypt in sequence while removing 10 drops of wine from their cups.
—Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for seder
Cite this Entry
“Seder.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/seder. Accessed 5 Apr. 2026.
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