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• credo
  credo

  noun

  the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed.
• Credo
  Credo

  noun

  the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed

credo

American  

[kree-doh, krey-] / ˈkri doʊ, ˈkreɪ- /

noun

credos plural

1. (often initial capital letter) the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed.

2. (often initial capital letter) a musical setting of the creed, usually of the Nicene Creed.

3. any creed or formula of belief.

   Synonyms:

   philosophy, tenet, doctrine

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Credo ¹ British  

/ ˈkreɪ-, ˈkriːdəʊ /

noun

1. the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed

2. a musical setting of the Creed

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credo ² British  

/ ˈkreɪ-, ˈkriːdəʊ /

noun

1. any formal or authorized statement of beliefs, principles, or opinions

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• credos
  plural

Etymology

Origin of credo

1150–1200; Middle English < Latin: literally, I believe; first word of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds in Latin

Explanation

Credo is Latin for, literally, "I believe," and originally meant a particular religious belief. Now it has the far broader meaning of any system of principles that guide a person or group. There's often a faintly jokey air to the word as used today, perhaps in recognition that it once popularly held such a high-minded meaning. A hedonist's credo might be simply "party on," or "enjoy the ride;" an actor's "the show must go on." Politicians have credos, and so too, presumably, do rappers and weather forecasters.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

credo Credo credos

Goodbye to the credo: “Rain or shine, I never miss a Sunday morning at church.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

So the second credo concerns "the temptation to feel chosen, which justifies acting on our base desires."

From Salon ● May 26, 2025

The fifth Puritan credo that’s still with us is "hard work is holy, while idleness is a sin."

From Salon ● May 26, 2025

He gives the example of the space marines, who live by the credo "they shall know no fear".

From BBC ● Dec. 10, 2024

By translating credo into the English first person plural, we believe, the Church no longer reminds the listener that he is alone.

From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez

Analysts believe Credo could potentially be a winner from the AI boom because the company makes the copper cables needed to connect servers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026

Credo forecast fiscal 2027 first-quarter revenue of $465 million to $475 million, which investors found light.

From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026

Credo said the deal will position the company to address the demand for both electrical and optical interconnects through a vertically integrated stack that includes its SerDes and digital signal processor technology.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026

In his Monday note, Curtis said he expects the acquisition to contribute less than $100 million in annual revenue for Credo.

From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026

The kiss of peace is given before the Consecration; the Credo is recited after the offertory.

From Heroic Spain by O'Reilly, Elizabeth Boyle

Bronner inherited his verbosity and gumption from his grandfather, Emanuel Bronner, who originally crammed all-caps, feel-good credos onto the labels of his soap bottles in the 1940s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026

Here’s a look at crackpot credos that flourished and foundered in L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2022

The game studios even established their own separate set of principles, although the credos frequently changed and sometimes were in tension with one another, say four people who worked there.

From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2021

One of their credos is “Hang Out, Do Good,” which is actually the name of one of the resistance organizations out here.

From New York Times ● Nov. 7, 2019

Religions of the world, with their respective credos and objects and forms of worship.

From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by Nuttall, P. Austin

Related Words

• creed
• philosophy
• tenet