Meaning & use
padre
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Meanings
nouncountableinformal
A military chaplain; a priest or minister who serves with soldiers.
Grammar: Countable; used as a title before a name or as a common noun, e.g. 'Padre Smith' or 'the padre'.
Patterns
- the padre
- Padre + name
The soldiers lined up to speak with the padre before the mission.
Padre, would you say a prayer for the troops?
He served as a padre in the army for twenty years.
nouncountableinformal
An informal term for a priest or clergyman, especially in Spanish- or Italian-speaking contexts.
Grammar: Countable; often used as a respectful form of address, like 'Father' in English.
Patterns
- a padre
- the local padre
The villagers asked the padre to bless the new house.
He was known simply as 'el padre' to everyone in the town.
Word forms
| plural | padres |
|---|
Common combinations
- army padre
- The army padre held a service in the field.
- naval padre
- A naval padre visited the ship before it sailed.
- the padre's blessing
- They received the padre's blessing before departure.
Synonyms and how they differ
Commonly confused: padre or padre (Spanish/Italian)?
padre vs padre (Spanish/Italian)
In Spanish and Italian, 'padre' means 'father' literally; in English it is only a title for a priest or chaplain.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'padre' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Padre' means a military chaplain or priest, so it fits the context of leading a service. Option 1 confuses it with the Spanish meaning 'father'. Option 2 is less common and not the usual English use. Option 3 is wrong because a padre is a person, not a vehicle.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “padre”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.