disciple
A person who follows and supports the ideas of a special teacher, leader, or way of thinking.
A person who strongly follows, supports, and spreads the teachings or ideas of a particular leader, thinker, or movement.
In the Christian Bible, one of the first followers of Jesus, especially one of the twelve men he chose to be closest to him.
In the New Testament, one of the original followers of Jesus Christ, especially any of the twelve men he chose to be his closest companions and messengers.
In Christian language, to teach and help someone so that they become a strong follower of Jesus.
In Christian contexts, to teach, guide, and train someone so that they become and live as a committed follower of Jesus Christ.
- Base: disciple
- Plural: disciples
a disciple of [someone/something]
1follower of a person or idea
Used to say that someone strongly follows and supports a particular person, style, or idea.
- He is a disciple of Freud and often uses psychoanalytic ideas in his work.
- Many young activists today are disciples of nonviolent resistance.
- The director is clearly a disciple of classic Italian cinema.
make disciples of [someone]
1convert people into followers of Jesus
To bring people to Christian faith so that they become followers of Jesus, a phrase based on Bible language.
- The mission of the church, they said, is to make disciples of all nations.
- They traveled to remote villages to preach and make disciples of those who believed.
- The group focuses on making disciples of students on campus.
the twelve disciples
1group of Jesus's twelve followers
A fixed phrase for the twelve main followers of Jesus in the Christian Bible.
- The painting shows Jesus at the table with the twelve disciples.
- Children in Sunday school learned the names of the twelve disciples.
- Many churches have stained-glass windows of the twelve disciples.