Pedestal Definition & Meaning

American

British

More Idioms

Other Word Forms

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 don’t have any excitement in their own lives, so they put him on the same pedestal as the circus performers in “Freaks” or Gwynplaine in “The Man Who Laughs.”

From Salon

Now I can see the steps and the pedestal below the obelisk, which had been covered up my entire life.

From Literature

"Nothing is left but the pedestals of the memorials and a few of the stones from them," he wrote online.

From BBC

Instead, two innings later, Smith delivered a swing that will change his legacy forever — thrusting him onto a pedestal both overdue and long-warranted.

From Los Angeles Times

Grigoryan, the lawyer representing Kostyrko’s family, said the case was a lesson for Russian society and the growing number of combat veterans it has placed on a pedestal.

From The Wall Street Journal

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.