Pedestal

/ˈpɛdɪstəl/ · noun

Meaning

(architecture) The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp..

Definitions by Sense

1. (architecture) The base or foot of a column, statue, vase, lamp.
2. (figuratively) A place of reverence or honor.
3. (rail transport) A casting secured to the frame of a truck of a railcar and forming a jaw for holding a journal box.
4. (machining) A pillow block; a low housing.
5. (bridge building) An iron socket, or support, for the foot of a brace at the end of a truss where it rests on a pier.
6. (steam heating) a pedestal coil, group of connected straight pipes arranged side by side and one above another, used in a radiator.
7. (telecommunications) A ground-level housing for a passive connection point for underground cables.
8. (electronics) The measured value when no input signal is given.

Example Sentences

The table and two base pedestals cost more than $4,000. The pedestals are described as having “hand applied ebonized inlay with bell flowers topped by hand carved scrolls and a fluted column.”

The state reached a deal with the city to remove the 40-foot granite pedestal the Lee statue sat on for more than a century.

He has put his mother on a pedestal. You can't say a word against her.

It’s an old, old story. We’ve all placed people on pedestals, and then, almost inevitably, they let us down. They violate our trust. They betray us. They fall off the pedestal, or we remove them.

But India is also where the Mahatma may have fallen furthest from the pedestal.

Synonyms for pedestal

Antonyms for pedestal

Related Words

Word Forms

• pedestals
• pedestaling
• pedestalling
• pedestaled
• pedestalled

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

Practice and Learn More

Frequently Asked Questions