imam
noun
i-ˈmäm 
ē-,
-ˈmam often capitalized
1
: the prayer leader of a mosque
2
: a Muslim leader of the line of Ali held by Shiites to be the divinely appointed, sinless, infallible successors of Muhammad
3
: any of various rulers that claim descent from Muhammad and exercise spiritual and temporal leadership over a Muslim region
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web One was led by Zulfiqar Ali Shah, imam at the Islamic Society of Milwaukee. 
Daphne Chen, Journal Sentinel, 10 Sep. 2022 His father was a pharmacology professor whose uncle had been grand imam of Al Azhar, a 1,000-year-old university that is a center of Islamic learning. Alan Cowell, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Aug. 2022 Abdul Aleem, a guest imam at Little Rock's Madina Institute and Mosque, told the youngsters the Prophet Muhammad had respected people from other faiths. Frank E. Lockwood, Arkansas Online, 2 July 2022 One of the leaders who spoke was Shaikh Ahmad Hammoud, an imam at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn who is an uncle to Hammoud. Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 16 Jan. 2022 In a nearby cemetery, the imam recited suras from the Quran as everyone prayed. Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2022 Ramadan ends on May 2 with a celebration called Eid al Fitr, followed by a prayer and talk by the imam and a light meal. Laura Groch, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2022 Born in Egypt on June 19, 1951, al-Zawahiri grew up in a conservative family, with his great uncle serving as grand imam of the Al Azhar university in Cairo. Catherine Garcia, The Week, 2 Aug. 2022 Kamala loudly complains to an imam, during service, that the women’s section is not as well maintained as the men’s. Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2022 See More
Daphne Chen, Journal Sentinel, 10 Sep. 2022 His father was a pharmacology professor whose uncle had been grand imam of Al Azhar, a 1,000-year-old university that is a center of Islamic learning. Alan Cowell, BostonGlobe.com, 2 Aug. 2022 Abdul Aleem, a guest imam at Little Rock's Madina Institute and Mosque, told the youngsters the Prophet Muhammad had respected people from other faiths. Frank E. Lockwood, Arkansas Online, 2 July 2022 One of the leaders who spoke was Shaikh Ahmad Hammoud, an imam at the Islamic Center of America in Dearborn who is an uncle to Hammoud. Niraj Warikoo, Detroit Free Press, 16 Jan. 2022 In a nearby cemetery, the imam recited suras from the Quran as everyone prayed. Keith Gessen, The New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2022 Ramadan ends on May 2 with a celebration called Eid al Fitr, followed by a prayer and talk by the imam and a light meal. Laura Groch, San Diego Union-Tribune, 3 Apr. 2022 Born in Egypt on June 19, 1951, al-Zawahiri grew up in a conservative family, with his great uncle serving as grand imam of the Al Azhar university in Cairo. Catherine Garcia, The Week, 2 Aug. 2022 Kamala loudly complains to an imam, during service, that the women’s section is not as well maintained as the men’s. Christopher Borrelli, Chicago Tribune, 13 July 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
Arabic imām
First Known Use
1613, in the meaning defined at sense 1