Also called Holy Scripture. Also called Holy Scriptures. Often Scriptures. the sacred writings of the Old or New Testaments or both together.
(often lowercase) any writing or book, especially when of a sacred or religious nature.
(sometimes lowercase) a particular passage from the Bible; text.
Also called: Holy Scripture. Holy Writ. the Scriptures. Christianity the Old and New Testaments
any book or body of writings, esp when regarded as sacred by a particular religious group
1250–1300; Middle English < Latin scrīptūra writing. See script, -ure
Scripture is a sacred religious text. It usually refers to the Christian Bible, but it can refer to other religions' texts as well. The noun scripture is most often used for specifically Christian writing, and it's often capitalized. However, it can refer to any religion's sacred writing: "Hindu scripture is written on the walls of the temple." In the 1300s, scripture sometimes meant simply "writing," though it more often referred to sacred words, especially in the Christian Bible. Its root word is the Latin script, or "writing."
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Never mind the miracles — according to Scripture, Sarah lived to 127 years old, while Abraham was kicking up dust until he was 175.
From Salon • Mar. 29, 2026
Appeared in the November 14, 2025, print edition as 'The Catholic Case for Purgatory in Scripture'.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 13, 2025
The judgment of Solomon, found in Chapter 3 of 1 Kings, is one of the most familiar stories in the Hebrew Scripture.
From Slate • Sep. 5, 2025
Scripture and natal charts existed in tandem, along with palm-reading diagrams, recipes for potions and instructions for alchemical reactions.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2025
He sits down and opens his Bible, not because it is Good Friday, the Friday before Easter, but because starting the day reading Scripture is his lifelong habit.
From "Lincoln's Last Days: The Shocking Assassination that Changed America Forever" by Bill O'Reilly
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.
