pope

noun

ˈpōp 

1

often capitalized : a prelate who as bishop of Rome is the head of the Roman Catholic Church

2

: one that resembles a pope (as in authority)

3

a

: the Eastern Orthodox or Coptic patriarch of Alexandria

b

: a priest of an Eastern church

Examples of pope in a Sentence

The cardinals elected a new pope.

Recent Examples on the Web

And that is a trip to the Vatican to see the pope and then to see the Italian leadership as well. —CBS News, 29 Dec. 2024

Eight more popes — some of them disputed — stayed there. —Catherine Porter, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2024

The pope wrote that he was warned of a report by British security services that a young woman with explosives was on her way to Mosul to blow herself up during his visit. —Christopher Lamb, CNN, 17 Dec. 2024

The College of Cardinals comes together for a papal conclave to choose a new pope—and things go spectacularly wrong. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 13 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English pāpa, from Late Latin papa, from Greek pappas, papas, title of bishops, literally, papa

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

pope

noun

ˈpōp 

often capitalized

: the head of the Roman Catholic Church

Biographical Definition

Pope 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

ˈpōp 

Alexander 1688–1744 English poet

Popian adjective

or less commonly Popean

ˈpō-pē-ən 

Pope

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

John 1822–1892 American general