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altar

altar

174 2.9
A raised table in a religious building where people place offerings and pray
  • noun
  • /ˈɔltər/
: altar
  • Your father has given me permission to escort you all the way to the altar.
  • ancestral altar
  • sacrifice at the altar
  • stand at the altar

There's about a four foot, you know, altar, you know, sort of platform.

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Examples

  • For the third time you left me standing at the altar.

  • We both stand at the same altar when we play, do the same things.

  • Meet me at the altar and bring our kids.

  • Could you help an old altar boy, Father?

  • It's like drinking altar wine.

  • As he looked in at the altar, he heard a noise behind him.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • The council altar, erected in front of the high altar, was just in front of us.

    Academic text (2013)
  • At the center of the altar is the emblem of an open hand.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • You know, tomorrow I'm gonna take you to this beautiful Mayan altar.

  • The priest placed the sacred objects on the altar during the ceremony.

Synonyms

high altar
vsaltar
  • Specialized
1 7.5

The main table at the east end of a church where the priest leads services

is any raised worship table used for offerings or sacrifices in ceremonies
communion table
vsaltar
1 5.5

A table in a church where bread and wine are placed for Communion

is used for worship acts beyond that specific sacrament
Lord's table
vsaltar
1 8.4

A table in a church where the priest places the bread and wine for Holy Communion

is used more broadly for offerings, sacrifices, or general worship
retable
vsaltar
  • Archaic
9.9

Table at the altar where the priest places the bread and wine during a service

is the general modern word for a raised worship table used in services

Idioms

14 7.9

To abandon someone at the last moment before their wedding

To marry someone in a formal wedding ceremony

Give up what is right to get money or power

Compounds

25 3.6

A boy who helps a priest during church services

1 5.5

A girl who helps the priest during a church service

high altar
  • Specialized
1 7.5

The main table at the east end of a church where the priest leads services

1 6.3

Wine used in a Christian communion service at church

How Prominent

high altar
  • Specialized
1 7.5
altar
174 2.9
side chapel
1 6.5

Surface Forms

altar singular
altars plural

Etymology

The word altar comes from an old root alt- meaning 'high', the same root you see in altitude. So an altar is literally a raised place or table for offerings and worship.