Definition of "celibate" [cel•i•bate]

• One who abstains from sexual intercourse, especially by reason of religious vows. (noun)
• One who is unmarried. (noun)
• Abstaining from sexual intercourse, especially by reason of religious vows. (adjective)
• Unmarried; unwed. (adjective)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The reason that priests are to remain celibate is financial."
• "And what is happening is an unraveling of the whole, what I call the celibate sexual system."
• "All of which points to a question: What if two men love each other, and want to spend their lives living and being together -- but also agree to remain celibate?"