overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

altar.

A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites.

5 characters2 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/ˈɒl.tə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɔːl.tə/Received-Pronunciation/ˈɔl.tə/British, Southern, Standard/ˈoːl.tə/British, Southern, Standard
  1. A table or similar flat-topped structure used for religious rites.

  2. A raised area around an altar in a church; the sanctuary.

    informal
  3. Any (real or notional) place where something is worshipped or sacrificed to.

    figuratively
Where this word comes from

Inherited from Middle English auter, inherited from Old English altar and borrowed from Old French auter, both derived from Latin altāre, probably related to adolere (“burn”); thus "burning place", influenced by altus (“high”). Displaced native Middle English wēved.

FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

altar has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

altar studioaltar workshello, altar

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.