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altar

noun

Simple meaning

A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

awlter

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈɔltɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

  1. A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites.

  2. informal

    A raised area around an altar in a church; the sanctuary.

  3. figurative

    Any (real or notional) place where something is worshipped or sacrificed to.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate (estimated)
Frequency
Moderately Common
Formality
Technical

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites.

Used this way, altar is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. This is a religious use: it carries the weight of tradition and ceremony.

Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Moderately common
Connotation
Matter-of-fact
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Where it naturally appears

  • Religion/spirituality
  • Historical writing

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

high altaraltar boymain altargreat altarfamily altarstone altarsmall altarholy altar

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • altar boynounCompound term

    A boy serving as an acolyte.

  • altar winenounCompound term

    Used in a communion service.

  • high altarnounCompound term

    The main altar in a church.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.