altar boy

noun

1
: a boy who assists the celebrant in a liturgical service
2
chiefly US : a morally pure and virtuous person
No one expects … the trendsetter and party animal to become an altar boy.Johnnie L. Roberts
typically used in negative constructions to describe a man whose behavior is not entirely admirable or blameless
A long time ago she married a man who turns out, by his own admission, to be somewhat dishonest—not a killer, not a dope peddler, but no altar boy, either.Richard Cohen

Examples of altar boy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Led by quarterback Brock Purdy, whose altar boy looks belie his killer instinct on the field, the 49ers are anything but unexpected participants in this, the biggest of big games. Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 11 Feb. 2024 His only public comment on record about the allegations against him was a guilty plea in 2020 to two counts each of indecent assault against a child under 13, indecent assault of a child under 16 and corruption of minors — all crimes involving altar boys, according to media reports. Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 5 Oct. 2023 Advertisement The 38-year-old Miller grew up in that church community, serving as an altar boy and learning Ukrainian dance techniques at its former location in City Heights. Lauren J. Mapp, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Nov. 2023 Brown consecrated the Stanton native as Orange County’s second Latino auxiliary bishop in 2000 even though Soto had pleaded for leniency in the 1986 case of Andrew Christian Andersen, who faced at least 56 years in prison for molesting altar boys in Huntington Beach. Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 18 Oct. 2023 Crockett Island is a religious place, but Riley—once an altar boy—has lost his faith. TIME, 12 Oct. 2023 The incident took place in 2006 when the plaintiff was 14 years old and in seventh grade, serving as an altar boy and attending religious school at a parish in a Philadelphia suburb, according to court documents filed in the civil case. Nicki Brown, CNN, 10 Aug. 2023 Another Baltimore victim, who reported that Father Joseph Davies repeatedly raped him as an altar boy in the 1950s, attempted suicide in high school. Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2023 Primal Fear presented audiences with a stunning major debut performance by Edward Norton as a young altar boy, Aaron, accused of murdering an archbishop. Jacob Linden, Men's Health, 28 Mar. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'altar boy.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1772, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of altar boy was in 1772

Dictionary Entries Near altar boy

Cite this Entry

“Altar boy.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/altar%20boy. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

altar boy

noun
: a boy who assists the priest in a church service
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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