Meaning & use
baptize
Last updated
Meanings
verbtransitivereligion
To perform a Christian ceremony in which someone is touched or covered with water to welcome them into the church.
Grammar: Takes an object; often passive: she was baptized.
Patterns
- baptize someone
- be baptized in something
The priest baptized the baby on Sunday.
He was baptized as an adult.
They were baptized in the river.
verbtransitiveformal
To give someone or something a name, as at a christening.
Grammar: Often takes a name: baptize it 'Bluebird'.
Patterns
- baptize someone something
They baptized the ship the Sea Queen.
The sailors baptized him 'Lucky'.
The group baptized its new paper 'The Voice'.
verbtransitivefigurative
To introduce someone to something through a tough first experience.
Grammar: Figurative; often in baptized by fire.
Patterns
- be baptized by fire
The rookie was baptized by fire on his first shift.
She was baptized by a brutal first week.
The new teachers were baptized by a stormy meeting.
Word forms
| third person singular | baptizes |
|---|---|
| past tense | baptized |
| past participle | baptized |
| -ing form | baptizing |
Common combinations
- baptize a baby
- They baptized the baby in June.
- baptized by fire
- He was baptized by fire in his first game.
- be baptized
- She wants to be baptized.
- baptize as
- They baptized him as a child.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
Commonly confused: baptize or baptise?
baptize vs baptise
Baptise is the British spelling.
Practice
The infant was ___ in the village church last Sunday.
Choose one answer.
Baptized fits the passive and the religious setting. The other words are wrong in meaning or form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “baptize”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.