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Glite Dictionary
🎤 A raised platform 🐞 A beaklike part
rostrum

rostrum

3 7.1
A raised platform where people stand to speak or be seen
  • noun
  • /ˈrɒstrəm/
translation icon : estrado
  • As she stepped onto the rostrum, the audience cheered, eager to hear her inspirational speech.
  • stand on the rostrum
  • speaking from the rostrum
  • speaker's rostrum

Unassailable argument clinching rejoinder from the rostrum.

Examples

  • One man in the back row tapped impatiently, waiting for the object he had come for to be brought to the rostrum.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • A banner over the rostrum says: "CHILDREN'S RESEARCH AND AID FOUNDATION"

    Fiction book (1993)

  • The small rostrum gave Colum enough height that the brothers met face to face.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • Saul took the stone steps down from the rostrum.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • At this moment President Rimet leaves the rostrum ... ... to present the trophy in person to the captain of the winning team.

    United Passions (2014)

  • Suddenly, he stopped dead center on the rostrum and cried at the top of his lungs, "Anastethi!"

    Fiction book (2000)

  • The debate of the 1890s was dramatically waged in the pulpit, on the rostrum, and in the press.

    Academic text (1994)

  • The mahogany rostrum was elegant, with curving banisters held up by delicate slats of wood.

    Fiction book (2001)

  • And the President, accompanied by the Escort Committee... comes down the central aisle, approaching the podium... greets members of his Cabinet... and those who are waiting to be confirmed as members of his Cabinet... as he reaches the rostrum.

    All the President's Men (1976)

  • Once inside, the king, shedding 'torrents of tears', took his place on a rostrum before the Tomb, surrounded by his weeping courtiers, waiting for the Holy Fire.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

podium
vsrostrum
118 3.8

A small raised platform someone stands on to speak or receive an award

is a raised place used to give prominence rather than only small visibility
platform
vsrostrum
90 1.6

A raised flat surface where people stand or work, like a stage

is a raised place specifically used to make a speaker more prominent
pulpit
vsrostrum
78 5.1

A raised platform in a church where a preacher speaks to the people

is a general raised speaking place not limited to religious settings
stump
vsrostrum
  • US
33 7.5

A raised place where someone stands to give a public speech

is a general raised spot to give prominence regardless of political use
dais
vsrostrum
  • Formal
17 7.6

A raised platform at the front of a room for important people to stand or sit on

is a raised place used to give prominence generally rather than formal position
soapbox
vsrostrum
16 6.6

A raised platform someone stands on to speak to a crowd

is a standard raised place used to give prominence, not an improvised stand
ambo
vsrostrum
  • Jargon
5 9.9

A raised platform in a church where someone reads the Bible or gives a sermon

is a general raised space for prominence, not restricted to church or liturgy

How Elevated

dais
  • Formal
17 7.6
stage
375 1.0
rostrum
3 7.1
platform
90 1.6
podium
118 3.8

Surface Forms

rostrum singular
rostra plural

Etymology

Rostrum comes from the Latin word rostrum meaning 'beak' and also the pointed front of a ship; in ancient Rome speakers stood on a platform that was decorated with captured ship beaks, so the platform itself became known as the rostrum. That's why today a rostrum is a raised platform used to show or let someone speak.