pulpit

noun

Definition of pulpitnext
as in altar
a raised flat surface where a priest or minister stands when leading a worship service The pastor ascended the pulpit.

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of pulpit The church plans to continue upholding core Baptist principles, including congregational autonomy free from a hierarchy, a free pulpit and religious freedom, Hudson said. — Zaire Breedlove, Charlotte Observer, 30 June 2026 Politicians routinely invoke faith on the campaign trail, speak from pulpits and frame policy debates in moral terms. — Zachary Bynum, CBS News, 21 June 2026 The church’s parklike campus took up an entire block on Fifth Avenue, and its high pulpit was occupied by Harry Emerson Fosdick, a bespectacled liberal Baptist minister. — Michael Luo, New Yorker, 14 June 2026 Candice and Timothy show Brittany how ‘church hurt’ stretches out from the pulpit and into cultural norms around gender, sexuality, acceptance. — Brittany Luse, NPR, 9 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for pulpit
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pulpit
  1. altar
  2. podium
Noun
  • To kneel at the altar of the market, to pray to the gods of the ultra-wealthy—these are not categorical values bestowed upon humanity, tenets beamed down to us from the cosmos.
    — Brady Brickner-Wood, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • In most Quaker houses of worship, there is no clergy, pulpit or altar.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of altar
Noun
  • Jayden Woods took the podium, ready to talk about a win that happened in Gainesville on Saturday.
    — Noah White, Miami Herald, 27 Sep. 2026
  • Storming a podium at a meeting of academics is a pointless performative act.
    — Kevin Rennie, Hartford Courant, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of podium

Browse Nearby Words

pulping
pulpit
pulpits
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Cite this Entry

“Pulpit.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pulpit. Accessed 3 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on pulpit

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about pulpit

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