cult

American  

[kuhlt] / kʌlt /

noun

1. a particular system of religious worship, especially with reference to its rites and ceremonies.

2. an instance of great veneration of a person, ideal, or thing, especially as manifested by a body of admirers.

   the physical fitness cult.

3. the object of such devotion.

4. a group or sect bound together by veneration of the same thing, person, ideal, etc.

5. Sociology. a group having a sacred ideology and a set of rites centering around their sacred symbols.

6. a religion or sect considered to be false, unorthodox, or extremist, with members often living outside of conventional society under the direction of a charismatic leader.

7. the members of such a religion or sect.

8. any system for treating human sickness that originated by a person usually claiming to have sole insight into the nature of disease, and that employs methods regarded as unorthodox or unscientific.

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adjective

1. of or relating to a cult.

2. of, for, or attracting a small group of devotees.

   a cult movie.

cult British  

/ kʌlt /

noun

1. a specific system of religious worship, esp with reference to its rites and deity

2. a sect devoted to such a system

3. a quasi-religious organization using devious psychological techniques to gain and control adherents

4. sociol a group having an exclusive ideology and ritual practices centred on sacred symbols, esp one characterized by lack of organizational structure

5. intense interest in and devotion to a person, idea, or activity

   the cult of yoga

6. the person, idea, etc, arousing such devotion

7. 1. something regarded as fashionable or significant by a particular group

   2. ( as modifier )

      a cult show

8. (modifier) of, relating to, or characteristic of a cult or cults

   a cult figure

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cult Cultural  

1. In anthropology, an organization for the conduct of ritual, magical, or other religious observances. Many so-called primitive tribes, for example, have ancestor cults, in which dead ancestors are considered divine and activities are organized to respect their memory and invoke their aid. A cult is also a religious group held together by a dominant, often charismatic individual, or by the worship of a divinity, an idol, or some other object. (See animism (see also animism), fetish, and totemism.)

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Discover More

The term cult often suggests extreme beliefs and bizarre behavior.

Other Word Forms

• anticult noun
• cultic adjective
• cultish adjective
• cultism noun
• cultist noun
• cultual adjective

Etymology

Origin of cult

First recorded in 1610–20; from Latin cultus “habitation, tilling, refinement, worship,” equivalent to cul-, variant stem of colere “to inhabit, till, worship” + -tus, suffix of verb action

Example Sentences

As Isaac Asimov observed, “There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been.”

From Salon • Mar. 28, 2026

“I entered that show as a fan,” Mr. McDonough writes, “and left a cult member.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026

He starred in his first feature film, “Psycho Beach Party,” in 2000, playing the love interest Starcat in the indie flick that’s now regarded as a cult classic.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 21, 2026

Somewhere along the way, culture began to border on cult.

From BBC • Mar. 20, 2026

“We just need to find a phone. Was that...was that some sort of cult? And we’re away from it now, so...”

From "The Strangers" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

Related Words

• band
• church
• clan
• clique
• denomination
• faith
• religion
• sect