one of a class of spiritual beings; a celestial attendant of God. In medieval angelology, angels constituted the lowest of the nine celestial orders (seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or dominions, virtues, powers, principalities or princedoms, archangels, and angels).
a conventional representation of such a being, in human form, with wings, usually in white robes.
a messenger, especially of God.
a person who performs a mission of God or acts as if sent by God.
an angel of mercy.
a person having qualities generally attributed to an angel, as beauty, purity, or kindliness.
a person whose actions and thoughts are consistently virtuous.
an attendant or guardian spirit.
a deceased person whose soul is regarded as having been accepted into heaven.
a person who provides financial backing for some undertaking, as a play, political campaign, or business venture.
A group of angels entered the mix, providing George the leverage he needed to take the startup company in a new direction.
Angels seek deals that they can exit in less than a decade.
an English gold coin issued from 1470 to 1634, varying in value from 6s. 8d. to 10s. and bearing on its obverse a figure of the archangel Michael killing a dragon.
Slang. an image on a radar screen caused by a low-flying object, as a bird.
theol one of a class of spiritual beings attendant upon God. In medieval angelology they are divided by rank into nine orders: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations (or dominions), virtues, powers, principalities (or princedoms), archangels, and angels
a divine messenger from God
a guardian spirit
a conventional representation of any of these beings, depicted in human form with wings
informal a person, esp a woman, who is kind, pure, or beautiful
informal an investor in a venture, esp a backer of a theatrical production
Also called: angel-noble. a former English gold coin with a representation of the archangel Michael on it, first minted in Edward IV's reign
informal an unexplained signal on a radar screen
Spelling tips for angel The word angel is hard to spell for two reasons. First, it is very close in spelling to angle, as in the space between two lines that meet at a point. Second, the beginning sound [ eyn ] is not spelled the way it sounds. How to spell angel: The first letter of angel is a, not e, because Angels are Amazing. The way to remember that angel ends in an l is that both devil and angel are celestial beings, and they both end in l. Similarly, angle and line are both mathematics terms, and they both end in e.
First recorded before 950; 1890–95 angel for def. 9; Middle English a(u)ngel, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Late Latin angelus, from New Testament Greek ángelos “messenger of God,” special use of Greek ángelos “messenger” (to translate Hebrew mal'ākh ), of disputed origin, frequently connected to ángaros “Persian mounted courier,” suggesting derivation from an uncertain source possibly akin to Akkadian agâru “to hire” or egertu “letter,” Persian angareh “journal, narrative,” or Sanskrit ajira “swift”; replacing Old English engel, from Latin, as above
An angel is a messenger of God, characterized as having human form with wings and a halo. The word suggests goodness, and is often used to refer to someone who offers comfort and aid to others in times of trouble. As a child, you looked like an innocent angel; appearances can be deceiving. The word angel derives from the Greek angelos, meaning "messenger." It is used in the Bible to denote God's attendants, with angels often depicted as being guardians of humans, an idea found in ancient Asian cultures as well. The Biblical sense was continued in a medieval gold coin called an angel, which depicted the archangel Michael. The word has been applied to angel fish, so named because they appear to have wings, and nurses, often called "angels of mercy."
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Parton plays an angel tasked with changing the mind and heart of a wealthy woman set on selling her humble hometown to a mall developer.
From Salon ● Aug. 26, 2026
He and his wife, Karlie Kloss, the onetime Victoria’s Secret angel, split time between New York and Miami, where they share a 15,000 square-foot, waterfront mansion with their three children.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Last year, she modelled for Di Petsa at London Fashion Week, closing their show in a white lace two-piece, flanked by an angel.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
She remembers the woman holding the angel, saying, “She is me.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
The image of an angel is emblazoned on it, the word Temperance is lettered beneath.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Time may be running short for Angel City.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
To speed up the response, Spain's cabinet on Tuesday approved the creation of a "single command" for Ceuta, to be led by Territorial Policy Minister Angel Víctor Torres.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
“We are pleased to report the conclusion of this independent investigation,” Angel said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
He and his wife, Willow Bay, purchased a controlling interest in the National Women's Soccer League's Angel City FC in 2024.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
Angel shrugs and sits down across from me.
From "Isaiah Dunn Is My Hero" by Kelly J. Baptist
Even if one is coming, “of that day and that hour knoweth no man,” not even “the angels which are in heaven.”
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
His San Gregorio Polyptych, painted in 1473, depicts the Virgin Mary holding an infant Jesus Christ, flanked by St Gregory and St Benedict as well as several angels.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
It is also where Abraham Lincoln, as the nation stood on the brink of Civil War, appealed to “the better angels of our nature.”
From Salon ● Jul. 10, 2026
Now they are like guardian angels informed by a post-pandemic sense that kids need a lot of help socializing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 18, 2026
It had taken the angels a long time to get rid of that kind of dangerous in Lucille; it was a fight that had started decades before even Bitter was born.
From "Pet" by Akwaeke Emezi
Through his second largest philanthropy, the General Education Board, he angeled Progressive Education.
From Time Magazine Archive
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.
