preacher

noun

preach·​er ˈprē-chər 

plural preachers

: one who preaches: such as

a

: a person who delivers a sermon publicly

a street preacher

b

: one whose function is to preach sermons : pastor, minister

She waited patiently on a Sunday morning until the crowd had said good-by to the preacher.

—Don Jeffries

"What kind of preacher are you? What denomination?" "I was ordained in a Baptist church, but I'm sort of nondenominational now."

—John Grisham

c

: one who inculcates or exhorts something earnestly or officiously

… he was an ardent preacher of gentlemanly ethics …

—Paul Schullery

… he was perceived by the larger world, not inaccurately, as a preacher of the hatred.

—Nicholas Lemann

Synonyms

• clergyperson
• cleric
• clerical
• clerk
• deacon
• divine
• dominie
• ecclesiastic
• minister
• priest
• reverend

Examples of preacher in a Sentence

the marriage will be performed by our usual preacher

Recent Examples on the Web

To the congregation, Rose had been much more than a charismatic preacher. —Guthrie Scrimgeour, Rolling Stone, 16 Mar. 2025

Blige also connected jazz (scat singing, riffing on a phrase, improvising wordless lines), gospel (testifying akin to a preacher delivering a sermon) and hip hop traditions. —Bob Gendron, Chicago Tribune, 15 Mar. 2025

He’s gone up higher for other roles before, like his shrill turn as a rotten southern preacher in The Devil All the Time and his sassy French accent in The King. —Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 13 Mar. 2025

Struggling with the aftermath of his loss, Foreman undergoes a profound personal transformation, stepping away from boxing to become a preacher. —Travis Bean, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for preacher

• bleacher
• creature
• feature
• reacher
• teacher
• schoolteacher

Kids Definition

preacher

noun

preach·​er

ˈprē-chər

: one that preaches

especially : minister entry 1 sense 1b