preached; preaching; preaches
1
: to deliver a sermon
2
: to urge acceptance or abandonment of an idea or course of action
specifically
: to exhort in an officious or tiresome manner
1
: to set forth in a sermon
preach the gospel
2
: to advocate earnestly
preached revolution
3
: to deliver (something, such as a sermon) publicly
4
: to bring, put, or affect by preaching
preached the … church out of debt—
Amer. Guide Series: Va.
Amer. Guide Series: Va.
Examples of preach in a Sentence
Have you ever heard that minister preach?
The minister preached to the congregation about the need for tolerance.
His followers listened to him preach the gospel.
The priest preached a regular sermon that Sunday.
Their mother has always preached the value of a good education.
Practice what you preach—don't smoke if you tell your children not to smoke.
The mayor continues to preach about the need for patience.
I don't like being preached at about how I should live my life.
Recent Examples on the Web
Flexible Work Opportunities Many companies preach employee well-being and flexible work but fail to deliver due to resistance to change, including within HR departments.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
That’s what Wall Street is preaching — at least for now.
—Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 3 Nov. 2024
Since being hired as coach, Redick has preached a perspective that values process ahead of results, and his team creating and taking the right kind of threes has been a major priority in the preseason.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
Johnson and others believed that dictionaries could record, and not merely dictate, the expressions of a people, in a version of what Savigny, the Grimms’ old professor at Marburg, had preached about the law.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for preach 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Expert Panel®, Forbes, 21 Nov. 2024
That’s what Wall Street is preaching — at least for now.
—Alicia Adamczyk, Fortune, 3 Nov. 2024
Since being hired as coach, Redick has preached a perspective that values process ahead of results, and his team creating and taking the right kind of threes has been a major priority in the preseason.
—Dan Woike, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2024
Johnson and others believed that dictionaries could record, and not merely dictate, the expressions of a people, in a version of what Savigny, the Grimms’ old professor at Marburg, had preached about the law.
—Jennifer Wilson, The New Yorker, 4 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for preach
Dictionary Entries Near preach
Cite this Entry
“Preach.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/preach. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share