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

Zafir, a rabbi and a member of the Vizhnitz community, was returning home from a wedding in Monsey, N.Y., according to multiple reports. —Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 6 Mar. 2025

Fans quickly fell in love with Nobody Wants This when the rom-com series launched in September and introduced the world to filter-free podcast host Joanne (Kristen Bell) and the hot rabbi who steals her heart, Noah (Brody). —Samantha Highfill, EW.com, 20 Feb. 2025

In Lee, a public school invited a rabbi to deliver a prayer at its graduation ceremony. —Ian Millhiser, Vox, 28 Jan. 2025

He was followed by a bar joke’s worth of benedictions—from a rabbi, a Catholic priest, and a Black evangelical pastor. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 20 Jan. 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"