From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishsaintsaint /seɪnt/ ●●○ noun [countable] 1 RRC (written abbreviation St or St.) someone who is given the title ‘saint’ by the Christian Church after they have died, because they have been very good or holy Saint Patrick Statues of saints lined the walls of the church.2 informalGOOD/MORAL someone who is extremely good, kind, or patient His wife must have been a saint to put up with him for all those years.3 → the patience of a saint
Examples from the Corpus
saint• The tall, narrow windows each had a saint in stained glass.• Thanks so much for doing that. You're a saint.• Your mother's a saint. She's done so much to help us.• Ordination doesn't make you a saint.• I always thought she was a selfish woman but she was an absolute saint compared to Abigail.• As he marched south Clovis was careful not to alienate the catholic Church or its saints.• Was I not right about the wee lass, saints preserve her!• Dagobert receives no entry in the dictionaries of saints and no trace of him is on public view at Stenay.• Members of the family, coached by Nicholas, would relate stories from secular histories or the lives of saints.• The statue of the patron saint, Francis Xavier, oversees all from behind the altar.• Among all the saints sat an unbeliever.Origin saint (1100-1200) Old French Late Latin sanctus, from Latin, “holy”, from the past participle of sancire “to confirm, make holy” 