Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

preach

/pɹit͡ʃ/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.69 in modern English

Syllables
preach
IPA
/pɹit͡ʃ/
13
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
1
Syllables
6
Unique Chars

Meaning

verb

To give a sermon.

Intransitive verb

verb

To proclaim by public discourse; to utter in a sermon or a formal religious harangue.

Transitive verb

verb

To advise or recommend earnestly.

Transitive verb

verb

To teach or instruct by preaching; to inform by preaching.

Transitive verb

verb

To give advice in an offensive or obtrusive manner.

Intransitive verb

noun

A religious discourse.

Obsolete

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English prechen, from Old French prëechier, precchier (Modern French prêcher), from Latin praedicō (“to proclaim, announce”, literally “to fore-assign, pre-dedicate”). Doublet of predicate. The Latin word is also the source of Old English predician (“to preach”), Saterland Frisian preetje (“to preach”), West Frisian preekje (“to preach”), Dutch preken (“to preach”), German Low German preken (“to preach”), German predigen (“to preach”), Danish prædike (“to preach”), Swedish predika (“to preach”), Icelandic prédika (“to preach”), Norwegian Nynorsk preika (“to preach”).

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: *deyḱ-, prechen, prëechier, praedicō

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: /pɹit͡ʃ/
  • British English: /pɹiːt͡ʃ/

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Religion.

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Frequently Paired Words

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce preach?
The recorded pronunciation is /pɹit͡ʃ/.
What does preach mean?
To give a sermon.
Where does preach come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce preach

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “preach”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/pɹit͡ʃ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “preach”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “preach” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.