podium

¹ American  

[poh-dee-uhm] / ˈpoʊ di əm /

noun

plural

podiums, podia

1. a small platform for the conductor of an orchestra, a public speaker, the recipient of a sports medal, etc.

2. Architecture.

   1. a low wall forming a base for a construction, as a colonnade or dome.

   2. a stereobate for a classical temple, especially one with perpendicular sides.

   3. the masonry supporting a classical temple.

   4. a raised platform surrounding the arena of an ancient Roman amphitheater having on it the seats of privileged spectators.

3. lectern.

4. a counter or booth, as one at an airport for handling tickets or dispensing information.

5. Zoology, Anatomy. a foot.

6. Botany. a footstalk or stipe.

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verb (used without object)

1. (in a sports competition) to finish first, second, or third and receive an award while standing on a podium.

   He’s podiumed in five of his past six races.

-podium ² American  

1. a combining form meaning “footlike part” of an organism, used in the formation of compound words.

   monopodium; pseudo-podium.

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podium ¹ British  

/ ˈpəʊdɪəm /

noun

1. a small raised platform used by lecturers, orchestra conductors, etc; dais

2. a plinth that supports a colonnade or wall

3. a low wall surrounding the arena of an ancient amphitheatre

4. zoology

   1. the terminal part of a vertebrate limb

   2. any footlike organ, such as the tube foot of a starfish

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-podium ² British  

combining form

1. a part resembling a foot

   pseudopodium

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Usage

What does -podium mean? The combining form -podium is used like a suffix meaning “footlike part.” It is very occasionally used in scientific terms, especially in botany.The form -podium comes from Greek pódion, meaning “little foot.” The Latin cognate of pódion is pēs, “foot,” and is the source of several combining forms related to the lower extremities, including -ped, -pede, and pedi-. Discover more at our Words That Use articles for each of these three forms.What are variants of -podium?The form -podium is a variant of -pode. It also shares an origin with the combining forms pod-, podo-, -pod, -poda, and -podous. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use articles for all these forms.

Etymology

Origin of podium¹

1605–15; < Latin: “elevated place, balcony” < Greek pódion “little foot,” equivalent to pod- pod- + -ion diminutive suffix. See pew

Origin of -podium²

From New Latin; podium

Example Sentences

Young faces lit up with joy as award winners bounced to the podium.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 31, 2026

Dealt a bad card with the safety car but couldn't exactly carve his way through the field and couldn't find a way past Leclerc for the final podium place.

From BBC • Mar. 29, 2026

In a showcase of top-level skating, there was no podium spot for France’s Adam Siao Him Fa, who had been in second after the short program but dropped to fifth overall after a fall.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2026

This was the final international podium missing from Hodgkinson's extensive list of honours, after various injuries prevented her from competing at each of the past three world indoors.

From BBC • Mar. 22, 2026

They could hear the crowd murmuring as Mrs. Malvolio pushed her way to the podium.

From "The Smartest Kid in the Universe" by Chris Grabenstein

Related Words

• dais
• platform
• rostrum
• stage