noun
- a chief priest.
- Judaism. (from Aaronic times to about the 1st century a.d.) the priest ranking above all other priests and the only one permitted to enter the holy of holies.
- Informal. a person in a high position of power or influence, especially one who is revered as a preeminent authority or interpreter: the high priest of the young painters.
noun
- Judaism the priest of highest rank who alone was permitted to enter the holy of holies of the tabernacle and Temple
- Mormon Church a priest of the order of Melchizedek priesthood
- the head of a group or cultAlso (feminine): high priestess