Pedestal Definition & Meaning

American

British

More Idioms

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Etymology

Examples

Related Words

Synonyms pedestal American [ped-uh-stl] / ˈpɛd ə stl /

noun

1. an architectural support for a column, statue, vase, or the like.

2. a supporting structure or piece; base.

3. Furniture.

   1. a support for a desk, consisting of a boxlike frame containing drawers one above the other.

   2. a columnar support for a tabletop.

4. Building Trades. a bulge cast at the bottom of a concrete pile.

verb (used with object)

pedestaled, pedestaling, pedestalled, pedestalling

1. to put on or supply with a pedestal.

idioms

1. set / put on a pedestal, to glorify; idealize.

   When we first became engaged each of us set the other on a pedestal.

pedestal British / ˈpɛdɪstəl /

noun

1. a base that supports a column, statue, etc, as used in classical architecture

2. a position of eminence or supposed superiority (esp in the phrases place, put, or set on a pedestal )

3. 1. either of a pair of sets of drawers used as supports for a writing surface

   2. ( as modifier )

      a pedestal desk

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012 pedestal More Idioms

1. see on a pedestal.

Other Word Forms

• unpedestal verb (used with object)

Etymology

Origin of pedestal

1555–65; alteration of Middle French piedestal < Italian piedestallo, variant of piedistallo literally, foot of stall. See ped- 2, de, stall 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

“They deserve the kind of the pedestal that we give to art as well,” Walker said.

From Los Angeles Times

What’s the problem with “fan”? It puts me on a pedestal that makes me feel uncomfortable.

From Los Angeles Times

"They're imperfect as well, which should be celebrated, instead of putting them on a pedestal which you think you have to climb as well."

From BBC

And next to the rings, resting on a kind of pedestal, was a shining, multicolored ball, almost the size of his fist.

From Literature

And where I was standing on a pedestal, clapping.

From Literature

Related Words

• podium

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.