Meanings
plural men of the cloth
- ChristianityA male member of the clergy.
The other virtue is that it pitches a man of the cloth into one of the most prominent roles in this year's autumn schedules.
2014 September 19, Olly Grant, “From sanctity to sleuthing”, in Church Times1 more example
Judge Tom Hughes told Haram: "It appears that [what happened] was truly awful - incidents of violence, aggression, all sorts of difficulties and the sexual offending which took place. During that period, you appeared to be living a life whereby you were acting in an official capacity as a man of the cloth."
2025 August 15, “Church pastor guilty of rape and beating children”, in BBC NewsSynonyms: clergyman
Synonyms & antonyms
nounA male member of the clergy.
More synonyms by meaning
nouna male member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of the Christian Church
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Translations
Hungarian pap, lelkész
- papa male member of the clergy
- lelkésza male member of the clergy
- Isten szolgájaa male member of the clergy
Cite this entry
man of the cloth. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/man%20of%20the%20cloth
“man of the cloth.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/man%20of%20the%20cloth. Accessed November 5, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “man of the cloth,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/man%20of%20the%20cloth.
Source: man of the cloth on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.