noun

pedestal

PEH-dihs-tuhl

noun

The base that supports a column, statue, vase, or similar object.

"The marble statue stood on a stone pedestal in the courtyard."

A position of great honor or admiration.

"Fans put the singer on a pedestal after her first big hit."

How to Use Pedestal

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishA support that raises something up — literally a base for a statue, or figuratively an elevated, admired status.

Memory tip

The figurative phrase "put on a pedestal" means to admire someone so much you overlook their flaws.

Trace the full origin ↓

Common pairings

put someone on a pedestal knock someone off their pedestal stone pedestal

pedestaled past tense, pedestalled past tense, pedestals plural, pedestals singular

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The marble statue stood on a stone _____ in the courtyard.

From Italian piedistallo, literally "foot stand," borrowed into French and then English.

vestal