bless
Americanverb (used with object)
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blesses,
present (3rd person singular)
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blessed,
past participle, past
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blest,
past participle, past
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blessing
present participle
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to consecrate or sanctify by a religious rite; make or pronounce holy.
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to request of God the bestowal of divine favor on.
Bless this house.
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to bestow good of any kind upon.
a nation blessed with peace.
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to extol as holy; glorify.
Bless the name of the Lord.
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to protect or guard from evil (usually used as an interjection).
Bless you! Bless your innocent little heart!
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to condemn or curse.
I'll be blessed if I can see your reasoning. Bless me if it isn't my old friend!
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to make the sign of the cross over or upon.
The Pope blessed the multitude.
verb
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to consecrate or render holy, beneficial, or prosperous by means of a religious rite
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to give honour or glory to (a person or thing) as divine or holy
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to call upon God to protect; give a benediction to
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to worship or adore (God); call or hold holy
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(often passive) to grant happiness, health, or prosperity to
they were blessed with perfect peace
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(usually passive) to endow with a talent, beauty, etc
she was blessed with an even temper
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rare to protect against evil or harm
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(interjection) an exclamation of well-wishing
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(interjection)
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a traditional phrase said to a person who has just sneezed
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an exclamation of well-wishing or surprise
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(interjection) an exclamation of surprise
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to be desperately poor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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blesssimple
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blessessimple
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have blessedperfect
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have blestperfect
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has blessedperfect
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has blestperfect
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am blessingprogressive
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are blessingprogressive
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is blessingprogressive
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have been blessingperfect progressive
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has been blessingperfect progressive
Past
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blessedsimple
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blestsimple
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had blessedperfect
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had blestperfect
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was blessingprogressive
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were blessingprogressive
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had been blessingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bless
First recorded before 950; Middle English blessen, Old English blētsian, blēdsian “to consecrate” (originally done with blood), earlier *blōdisōian ( blōd “blood” + -isō- derivational suffix + -ian verb suffix); see blood
Explanation
To bless is to offer a holy seal of approval, like when a priest blesses water, making holy water. It’s also what people say when you sneeze: bless you, which is short for “may God bless you.” If you go back far enough, the word bless is related to the word blood, because of the blood sprinkled on pagan alters. It moved on to mean “to praise,” and now it’s a little of both (minus the pagans). In religious contexts, things are made holy when they're blessed. Also, people are blessed by good things that happen. People often say things like "I've been blessed with good health.” That means they were lucky to receive such good things.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
“If somebody has the means to go to the Hamptons in a helicopter, God bless them,” Lasek said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 18, 2026
"God bless you Dolly Parton my friend, I am not the only one on earth who will love you for ever and ever."
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026
The jokers Toth and Jackson, bless them, keep things endearing and funny.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026
“So happy anniversary. God bless you, and God bless the United States.”
From Slate ● Aug. 14, 2026
“God bless you for your pure heart, Sister Deborah. But if that girl ain’t gone away from here a-looking for a husband, my name ain’t Gabriel Grimes.”
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
If California blesses liability for the pace of innovation, other states will feel the pull.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
The firm’s sole female partner, Close’s Dina Standish, blesses their exit, encouraging them to take Nash-Betts’ lead investigator, Emerald Greene, with them.
From Salon ● Nov. 6, 2025
When the archbishop freezes mid-prayer, as he blesses the King in the Coronation chair, another clergyman teases: "You must have said this before."
From BBC ● Dec. 21, 2023
And his mother blesses him with water and basil leaves to keep the bad vibrations away.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
Uncle Leang looks at her, face hanging, eyes blinking rapidly, and blesses Ma for a safe journey.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
Many Sparks said they felt blessed to have formed relationships with Leslie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026
This blessed return to artful thinking was echoed again last week, when AMC announced its new distribution venture, Leawood Films, dedicated to getting as many eyes as possible on small and entirely independent movies.
From Salon ● Sep. 11, 2026
Olympic long jump champion Tara Davis-Woodhall says she is "lucky and blessed to be alive" after being involved in a car crash.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
At the Maria Cabrales school, principal Regla Maria Perera, 64, said there is an art to running a school that has no electricity and is not blessed with good natural light.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Mama reminded Ella every chance she got, pressing upon her that not everyone shared her blessed circumstances.
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
It is “twice blest; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2017
"The nations, not so blest as thee / Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall; / While thou shalt flourish great and free, / The dread and envy of them all."
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2016
"In a land where movement is virtue, where the echo of heels clicking rapidly on pavement is inordinately blest, it is a grand, defiant, and edifying gesture to lie down for six months."
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2015
I blest His name that gave and took, That laid my goods now in the dust.
From The Guardian ● May 26, 2014
Je-sus said to him, Thom-as, be-cause thou hast seen me, thou hast faith in me; blest are they that have not seen me, and yet put their trust in me.
From Young Folks' Bible in Words of Easy Reading The Sweet Stories of God's Word in the Language of Childhood by Josephine Pollard
Selfless, naive Gretta gives Max her blessing and her rights, and almost immediately he betrays her with another woman.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
And when the 1907-built edifice required maintenance, some party members did not view it as a blessing.
From Slate ● Sep. 18, 2026
In the end, it must have felt like the greatest blessing.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
The sixth episode establishes, finally, that not only are they fast friends, but Ted is also ready to begin dating again with Michelle’s blessing.
From Salon ● Sep. 10, 2026
How blessed are some people, whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly, and brings nothing but sweet dreams.
From "Dracula" by Bram Stoker
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
