priest

Pluralpriests

Formspriests, priesting, priested

1. 1
   religious leadernouncountable

   A member of the clergy trained to lead religious services or perform sacrifices at a church or temple.

   The village priest visited the sick every Sunday afternoon.

   She studied for years at the seminary before becoming a priest.

   Similarminister, cleric, clergyman, pastor, vicar

   Note

   The word is not tied to one faith: it fits a Catholic confessor, a Buddhist priest burning incense, and the Israelite priests descended from Aaron. Source

   Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact

   • The Israelite priesthood was inherited through descent from Aaron. en.wikipedia.org
2. 2
   appoint (church)verbtransitive

   To formally ordain someone into the office of priest.

   The diocese plans to priest several deacons this year.

   The archbishop priested twelve candidates in a single ceremony.

   UsageOften used in the passive: be priested, was priested.

   Similarordain

   Oppositedefrock

   Note

   The noun turned directly into a verb, and it sits comfortably in the passive. In Alexander Cooke's Pope Joane (1610), one speaker translates a medieval writer who mocks the idle man "hastie to be priested."

3. 3
   Mormon ranknouncountable

   In Latter-day Saint practice, an office of the Aaronic, or lesser, priesthood, above deacon and teacher but below bishop, usually held from about age sixteen; also, a person holding it.

   In his Latter-day Saint ward, he became a priest at sixteen and helped bless the sacrament.

   Young men are typically ordained priests around the age of sixteen.

   Note

   Here the word names a rank within a ladder of offices rather than a calling. In Latter-day Saint usage, a priest stands above teacher and deacon and is authorized to baptize and to administer the sacrament. Read in that setting, "he was ordained a priest" marks a step in that ladder of offices. It does not describe the lifelong vocation of the general clergy sense. Source

   Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

   • Priest is a priesthood office above teacher and deacon in Latter-day Saint practice. churchofjesuschrist.org
   • A priest may baptize and administer the sacrament. churchofjesuschrist.org

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