pulpit

American  

[pool-pit, puhl-] / ˈpʊl pɪt, ˈpʌl- /

noun

1. a platform or raised structure in a church, from which the sermon is delivered or the service is conducted.

2. the pulpit,

   1. the clerical profession; the ministry.

   2. members of the clergy collectively.

      In attendance were representatives of medicine, the pulpit, and the bar.

3. (especially in Protestantism and Judaism) the position of pastor or rabbi.

   He heard of a pulpit in Chicago that was about to be vacated.

4. the work of a preacher; preaching.

5. bully pulpit.

6. (in small craft)

   1. a safety rail rising about 18 to 30 inches (48 to 76 centimeters) from the deck near the bow and extending around it.

   2. a similar rail at the stern.

7. a control booth in a factory, usually elevated and glass-enclosed, from which an operator can observe and direct the manufacturing process.

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pulpit British  

/ ˈpʊlpɪt /

noun

1. a raised platform, usually surrounded by a barrier, set up in churches as the appointed place for preaching, leading in prayer, etc

2. any similar raised structure, such as a lectern

3. a medium for expressing an opinion, such as a column in a newspaper

4. 1. the preaching of the Christian message

   2. the clergy or their message and influence

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Other Word Forms

• pulpital adjective
• pulpitless adjective

Etymology

Origin of pulpit

First recorded in 1300–50; Anglo-Norman pulpit, pulputte, French, Middle French pulpite, from Latin pulpitum “platform, scaffold, stage,” and also in Late Latin “pulpit”

Explanation

If you go into a church and see a minister speaking from a high platform, he's speaking from the pulpit. Pulpit was originally used to refer to the platform in a church that a preacher speaks from, but we often use it metaphorically for any kind of preaching, whether it's religious or not. If someone is trying to tell everyone else how to live, they're speaking from the pulpit, whether they're preaching the embrace of root vegetables or warning us that we will be attacked by aliens.

Example Sentences

They can make major unilateral decisions — such as welcoming federal troops into California cities — and command a bully pulpit to drive public opinion and policy, including through statewide ballot measures.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 9, 2026

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, a public interest communications attorney, said Carr is using his bully pulpit at the FCC to intimidate “a timorous broadcasting industry.”

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 20, 2026

Roosevelt’s challenge to Wall Street, he writes, “was largely a bully pulpit affair, with rhetoric exceeding action.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

The Prince of Wales gave a Bible reading from the pulpit.

From BBC • Dec. 24, 2025

If you’re from Iran, imagine a big bathtub on a balcony, center stage, behind a pulpit, under a giant cross, and three grown men in white hospital gowns getting in.

From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri

Related Words

• lectern
• podium