Meaning & use
pharaoh
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Meaning
nouncountable
A king of ancient Egypt, who was also seen as a religious leader and sometimes as a god.
Grammar: Countable: 'a pharaoh', 'the pharaohs'. Capitalize when used as a title before a name: 'Pharaoh Ramses'.
Patterns
- the pharaoh
- a pharaoh of Egypt
- Pharaoh + name
The pharaoh ordered a new temple to be built.
Tutankhamun became pharaoh at a very young age.
The pharaoh was both a political and religious leader.
Word forms
| plural | pharaohs |
|---|
Common combinations
- the pharaoh's tomb
- Archaeologists opened the pharaoh's tomb and found gold masks.
- ancient pharaoh
- The ancient pharaoh ruled for over thirty years.
- the pharaoh's army
- The pharaoh's army marched north to defend the border.
- Pharaoh Ramses
- Pharaoh Ramses built many monuments along the Nile.
Synonyms and how they differ
Word family
- pharaonic adjective
- Relating to a pharaoh or to ancient Egypt, often suggesting something grand and expensive.
Commonly confused: pharaoh or Pharisee?
pharaoh vs Pharisee
A member of an ancient Jewish religious group; it sounds a little like 'pharaoh' but is completely different.
Practice
The Great Pyramid was built as a tomb for a ___ of ancient Egypt.
Choose one answer.
A pharaoh was an ancient Egyptian ruler buried in pyramids. 'Pharisee' is a religious group, 'pharmacy' is a shop for medicine, and 'phantom' is a ghost.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pharaoh”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.