archbishop

noun

arch·​bish·​op (ˌ)ärch-ˈbi-shəp 

: a bishop at the head of an ecclesiastical province or one of equivalent honorary rank

Examples of archbishop in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Alligator is permissible to eat on Fridays during Lent, the archbishop of New Orleans told an inquisitive parishioner who once sent a letter to the religious leader seeking clarification, according to the Catholic News Agency. —Peter Burke, Fox News, 14 Mar. 2025

The then archbishop of Buenos Aires, Adolfo Tortolo, was close friends with Videla, the regime’s first and most brutal leader. —Federico Perelmuter, The Dial, 13 Mar. 2025

The Stone of Twelve Angles is located in a wall that once made up the Inca Roca palace, but now houses the archbishop’s palace and an art museum, Agence France-Presse reports. —Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 19 Feb. 2025

Religious sisters join them, wearing a variety of habits that signal their order, as well as bishops and archbishops. —Timothy Nerozzi, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 28 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English arcebiscop, from Late Latin archiepiscopus, from Late Greek archiepiskopos, from archi- + episkopos bishop — more at bishop

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

archbishop

noun

arch·​bish·​op (ˈ)ärch-ˈbish-əp 

: the bishop of highest rank in a group of dioceses