Pulpit

//ˈpʊlpɪt// noun, slang

noun, slang ·Common ·High school level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A raised platform in a church, sometimes enclosed, where the minister or preacher stands when giving the sermon; also, the lectern on such a platform. countable

    "Always, whether in the pulpit or on the platform, as in private conversation, there is an absolute simplicity about the man and his words; a simplicity, an earnestness, a complete honesty."

  2. 2
    a platform raised above the surrounding level to give prominence to the person on it wordnet
  3. 3
    Activity associated with or usually performed from a church pulpit; preaching, sermons, religious teaching. metonymically, uncountable
  4. 4
    The preaching profession, office, or role in general; the pastorate, the priesthood, the ministry. metonymically, uncountable
  5. 5
    Preachers collectively; clergy; the priesthood. metonymically, uncountable
Show 6 more definitions
  1. 6
    An individual or particular preaching position or role; a pastorate. countable, metonymically

    "He seems like too timid a man to fill the pulpit at such a large church."

  2. 7
    Bully pulpit. broadly
  3. 8
    Any lectern, podium, dais, or platform for an orator or public speaker. countable
  4. 9
    The railing at the bow of a boat, which sometimes extends past the deck; also called bow pulpit. The railing at the stern is sometimes called the stern pulpit or the pushpit. countable
  5. 10
    A bow platform for harpooning. countable

    "[Hooper:] Will you just please go to the end of the pulpit! [Brody:] What for? [Hooper:] I need to have something in the foreground to give it some scale. [Brody:] Foreground, my ass!"

  6. 11
    A plane's cockpit. UK, dated, slang

    "In the slang of the Royal Air Force man, the cockpit of his plane is the ‘pulpit’ or ‘office’, the glass covering over it the ‘greenhouse’."

Synonyms

All synonyms
daissoapboxamboamboapostleshipbalcony

Antonyms

All antonyms
pew

Example

More examples

"Tom and Mary once jumped together from Pulpit Rock with a parachute. It was a short but magical experience."

Etymology

From Middle English pulpit, from Old French pulpite and Latin pulpitum (“platform”). Doublet of pulpitum.

Related phrases

Jack-in-the-pulpitbully pulpitparson-in-the-pulpitwayside pulpitbully pulpitchurch deskchurch lecternchurch thingfor sermonsminister podiumpreachers placepreaching stage

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.