noun ·Moderate ·College level
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cherub" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cherub" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cherub" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Check whether "cherub" is acting as noun in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
Compare it with "angel" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Before publishing a sentence with "cherub", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
"Over the arcke were the cherubyns off glory shadowynge the seate of grace."
"For ſome colour of ſetting vp their idols in Churches to bee worſhiped, they full ſimply alledge the Cherubins that were ſet vp in the temple which Solomon built, which M. [William] Bishop ſaith were the images of Angels, and that they did repreſent the Angels wee will not deny, but of what ſhape they were, no man ſaith Joſephus, can cõiecture or affirme any thing."
"Patience, thou young and rose-lipp'd Cherubin."
"The frieze included a cherub and a heart."
A winged creature attending God and guarding his throne described as a being with four faces (man, lion, ox, and eagle), human hands, calf hooves, four wings, and many eyes. A description can be found in Ezekiel chapter 1 and Ezekiel chapter 10; similar to a lamassu (winged bull with a human torso) in the pre-exilic texts of the Hebrew Bible, more humanoid in later texts.
Common synonyms include: angel, angel, angel figure, angel of light, angel of love, angelico.
The frieze included a cherub and a heart.
Pronounced /ˈt͡ʃɛ.ɹəb/.
From Middle English cherub, cherube, cherubin, cherubine, cherubym, cherubyn, cherybin, gerubin, jerubin (“angel of the second highest order; depiction of such an angel”), from Old English cerubin, cerubim, ceruphin, cherubin, from Latin cherūbīm, cherūbīn, from Ancient Greek χερουβῑ́μ (kheroubī́m), χερουβείν (kheroubeín), χερουβίμ (kheroubím), from Hebrew כְּרוּבִים (k'ruvím);. Because it was not always clear from Bible passages whether a single being or group of beings was being referred to, cherubin was used both as a singular word (plural cherubins) and plural word up to the 18th century. However, in Bible translations particularly from the 16th century onward cherub began to be favoured as the singular form, and from the 17th century cherubim as the plural form (influenced by Hebrew כְּרוּבִים (k'ruvím)). The English word is cognate with French chérubin, Italian cherubino, Old Spanish cherubin (modern Spanish querubín), Galician querubín, Portuguese querubim.