pope

noun

ˈpōp 

1

often capitalized : a prelate who as bishop of Rome is the head of the Roman Catholic Church

2

: one that resembles a pope (as in authority)

3

a

: the Eastern Orthodox or Coptic patriarch of Alexandria

b

: a priest of an Eastern church

Examples of pope in a Sentence

The cardinals elected a new pope.

Recent Examples on the Web

The pope then dedicated the Pantheon to Mary, the Blessed Mother and martyrs. —Saleen Martin, USA TODAY, 31 Oct. 2024

More movie reviews:Ralph Fiennes leads an all-star cast in the search for a new pope in 'Conclave' Meredith G. White covers entertainment, art and culture for The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com. —Meredith G. White, The Arizona Republic, 30 Oct. 2024

Caught in the vortex of egos is Cardinal Lawrence (played by a sharp Ralph Fiennes), an Englishman who’d tried to resign recently from his post over his growing doubt about his beliefs, but who was charged by the late pope to lead the conclave anyway. —Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 30 Oct. 2024

Featured Presentations Conclave As its namesake suggests, this thrilling drama from Edward Berger, adapted from Robert Harris’s novel of the same name, is set around a private election to decide the next pope. —Savannah Salazar, Vulture, 26 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English pāpa, from Late Latin papa, from Greek pappas, papas, title of bishops, literally, papa

First Known Use

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

Kids Definition

pope

noun

ˈpōp 

often capitalized

: the head of the Roman Catholic Church

Biographical Definition

Pope 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈpōp 

Alexander 1688–1744 English poet

Popian adjective

or less commonly Popean

ˈpō-pē-ən 

Pope

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

John 1822–1892 American general