Bible

[ bahy-buhl ]

See synonyms for Bible on Thesaurus.com

noun

the collection of sacred writings of the Christian religion, comprising the Old and New Testaments.
Hebrew Bible.

Often bi·ble . the sacred writings of any religion.
bible, any book, reference work, periodical, etc., accepted as authoritative, informative, or reliable: He regarded that particular bird book as the birdwatchers' bible.

Origin of Bible

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English bible, bibel, from Old French bible, from Medieval Latin biblia (feminine singular), from Greek, in tà biblía tà hagía (Septuagint) “the holy books,” plural of biblíon, byblíon “papyrus roll, strip of papyrus,” equivalent to býbl(os) “papyrus” (after Býblos, a Phoenician port where papyrus was prepared and exported) + -ion noun suffix

Other words from Bible

an·ti-Bi·ble, adjective
pro-Bi·ble, adjective

Words Nearby Bible

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Bible in a sentence

She still balanced her checkbook, and spent her days doing crossword puzzles and poring over her Bible.
Sent Home to Die | by Annie Waldman and Joshua Kaplan | September 2, 2020 | ProPublica
Some defend the Pences by claiming they “just follow the Bible.”
Harris should make Pence’s bigotry an issue | James Driscoll | August 28, 2020 | Washington Blade
First and foremost, as the Bible says, love your neighbor as you love yourself.
Departure from convention—mom, baseball, the postal worker, and patriotism | jakemeth | August 19, 2020 | Fortune
Nonetheless, some parts of the Bible have been used to justify the quelling of social unrest.
A Justification For Unrest? Look No Further Than The Bible And The Founding Fathers | LGBTQ-Editor | June 11, 2020 | No Straight News
It would have been a familiar theme to the people who wrote the Bible and it is reflected in the texts themselves.
A Justification For Unrest? Look No Further Than The Bible And The Founding Fathers | LGBTQ-Editor | June 11, 2020 | No Straight News

And “what kind of person,” Steinberg asks, “dares to write a sequel to the Bible?”
Was ‘The Book of Mormon’ a Great American Novel? | Stefan Beck | January 4, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
It needs to be said: bigotry in the name of religion is still bigotry; child abuse wrapped in a Bible verse is still child abuse.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen | Parker Molloy | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
No more allowing people to justify their bigotry by spouting a cherry-picked Bible verse.
Dear Leelah, We Will Fight On For You: A Letter to a Dead Trans Teen | Parker Molloy | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST
He stated—quite rightly—that animals are never mentioned in connection with eternal life in the Bible.
Sorry, Internet: Pope Francis Didn't Open Paradise to Pets | Candida Moss | December 14, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
In the Bible, Moses does kill a guy—the Egyptian slave master who is beating an Israelite to death.
Christian Bale: One Man's Moses Is Another Man's Terrorist | Candida Moss, Joel Baden | December 7, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
There seems something in that also which I could spare only very reluctantly from a new Bible in the world.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Each religion claims that its own Bible is the direct revelation of God, and is the only true Bible teaching the only true faith.
God and my Neighbour | Robert Blatchford
And furthermore, I imagine something else about this—quite unlike the old Bible—I imagine all of it periodically revised.
The Salvaging Of Civilisation | H. G. (Herbert George) Wells
Is the Bible revelation so clear and explicit that no difference of opinion as to its meaning is possible?
God and my Neighbour | Robert Blatchford
I shall therefore, in my effort to prove the Bible fallible, quote almost wholly from Christian critics.
God and my Neighbour | Robert Blatchford

British Dictionary definitions for Bible

Bible

/ (ˈbaɪbəl) /

noun

- the Bible the sacred writings of the Christian religion, comprising the Old and New Testaments and, in the Roman Catholic Church, the Apocrypha
- (as modifier): a Bible reading
the English name for Tanach

(often not capital) any book containing the sacred writings of a religion
(usually not capital) a book regarded as authoritative: the angler's bible

Origin of Bible

C13: from Old French, from Medieval Latin biblia books, from Greek, plural of biblion book, diminutive of biblos papyrus, from Bublos Phoenician port from which Greece obtained Egyptian papyrus

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Bible (1 of 2)

Bible

The book sacred to Christians (see also Christian), which they consider to be the inspired word of God. The Bible includes the Old Testament, which contains the sacred books of the Jews (see also Jews), and the New Testament, which begins with the birth of Jesus.

Thirty-nine books of the Old Testament are accepted as part of the Bible by Christians and Jews alike. Some Christians consider several books of the Old Testament, such as Judith, I and II Maccabees, and Ecclesiasticus, to be part of the Bible also, whereas other Christians, and Jews, call these the Old Testament Apocrypha. Christians are united in their acceptance of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament; Jews do not consider the writings of the New Testament inspired. The Bible is also called “the Book” (bible means “book”).

Notes for Bible

By extension, any book considered an infallible or very reliable guide to some activity may be called a “bible.”

Bible

The book sacred to Christians (see also Christian), containing the Old Testament and the New Testament. The Old Testament contains the writings sacred to the Jews (see also Jews).

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