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• bishop
  bishop

  noun

  a person who supervises a number of local churches or a diocese, being in the Greek, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other churches a member of the highest order of the ministry.
• Bishop
  Bishop

  noun

  Elizabeth, 1911–79, U.S. poet.

bishop

¹ American  

[bish-uhp] / ˈbɪʃ əp /

noun

• bishops
  plural

1. a person who supervises a number of local churches or a diocese, being in the Greek, Roman Catholic, Anglican, and other churches a member of the highest order of the ministry.

2. a spiritual supervisor, overseer, or the like.

3. Chess. one of two pieces of the same color that may be moved any unobstructed distance diagonally, one on white squares and the other on black.

4. a hot drink made of port wine, oranges, cloves, etc.

5. Also called bishop bird.  any of several colorful African weaverbirds of the genus Euplectes, often kept as pets.

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verb (used with object)

bishoped, bishoping

1. to appoint to the office of bishop.

Bishop ² American  

[bish-uhp] / ˈbɪʃ əp /

noun

1. Elizabeth, 1911–79, U.S. poet.

2. Hazel Gladys, 1906–1998, U.S. chemist and businesswoman.

3. John Peale, 1892–1944, U.S. poet and essayist.

4. Morris (Gilbert), 1893–1973, U.S. humorist, poet, and biographer.

5. William Avery Billy, 1894–1956, Canadian aviator: helped to establish Canadian air force.

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bishop ¹ British  

/ ˈbɪʃəp /

noun

1. (in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, and Greek Orthodox Churches) a clergyman having spiritual and administrative powers over a diocese or province of the Church See also suffragan

2. (in some Protestant Churches) a spiritual overseer of a local church or a number of churches

3. a chesspiece, capable of moving diagonally over any number of unoccupied squares of the same colour

4. mulled wine, usually port, spiced with oranges, cloves, etc

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Bishop ² British  

/ ˈbɪʃəp /

noun

1. Elizabeth . 1911–79, US poet, who lived in Brazil. Her poetry reflects her travelling experience, esp in the tropics

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Bishop Scientific  

/ bĭsh′əp /

1. American molecular biologist who, working with Harold Varmus, discovered oncogenes. For this work, Bishop and Varmus shared the 1989 Nobel Prize for physiology or medicine.

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bishop Cultural  

1. In some Christian churches, a person appointed to oversee a group of priests or ministers and their congregations. In the Anglican Communion, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Roman Catholic Church, bishops are considered the successors of the Twelve Apostles.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underbishop
  noun
• bishopless
  adjective
• bishoplike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bishops
  plural

Etymology

Origin of bishop

before 900; Middle English; Old English bisc ( e ) op < Vulgar Latin *ebiscopus, for Late Latin episcopus < Greek epískopos overseer, equivalent to epi- epi- + skopós watcher; see scope

Explanation

A bishop is a religious authority figure in some Christian churches. In many churches, a bishop ordains, or appoints, ministers and priests. In Christian traditions ranging from Roman Catholic to Lutheran, bishops play an important role in church oversight. In many orthodox and Catholic churches, bishops are believed to be the successors to the original twelve apostles from the Bible's New Testament. The chess piece called the bishop comes from this religious figure, and the word itself comes from the Greek episkopos, "watcher or overseer."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bishop Bishop bishops bishoped bishoping

Separately, a former minister from another Church of Ireland parish in east Belfast detailed what he believed to be a further safeguarding concern involving the bishop of the diocese David McClay.

From BBC ● Jun. 8, 2026

He said that he’d been referred to her by a bishop with Catholic Charities and that he’d help her obtain immigration papers.

From Salon ● May 2, 2026

The Vatican announced the nomination of Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, 55, currently an auxiliary bishop in Washington, to the diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in the poor mountainous state of West Virginia.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

After Vance criticized Leo this month, Italian bishop Antonio Staglianò responded by taking Francis’ logic even further in a pacifist direction.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026

I love the look on his face when I manage one of those and take his bishop.

From "Fish in a Tree" by Lynda Mullaly Hunt

St. John Bosco struggled to adjust covering Bishop Gorman running backs going out for passes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026

Bishop Alemany’s Dennis Keyes takes over a program that hit rock bottom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Bishop Krzysztof Wętkowski, who consecrated the statue, said "many contemporary people look only to the earth"

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

David Oakley, the Bishop of Northampton, was charged in June following an investigation by Staffordshire Police.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

“Where? I dunno. Somewhere around here. Doesn’t smell like a proper dog anyway,” said the Bishop of Bath and Wells.

From "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman

At championships for European school children in 2022, barely a year after she first learned that bishops move along a diagonal, Sivanandan went on to win all 24 of her matches.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

On Thursday, the Vatican’s doctrinal office said the measures were a response to the group’s consecration of four bishops earlier this week without the consent of Pope Leo XIV.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

But for these four men, their time as bishops may be very short.

From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026

The ultra-traditionalist breakaway group with about 600,000 followers worldwide intends to appoint four bishops: two French, one American and one Swiss.

From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026

William thought about the texts that he and I had read together—the great Rashi, who had shown our bishops the errors in our translations of the Hebrew Bible.

From "The Inquisitor's Tale" by Adam Gidwitz

He would be bishoped here, and bishoped there, before the eyes of all palatial men and women, till life would be a burden to him.

From The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope

All over the country the farmers and horse-dealers knew that neither Jasper nor Panuel ever bishoped a gry, or indulged in any other horse-dealing tricks.

From Aylwin by Theodore Watts-Dunton

In that county burnt milk is still said to be "bishoped."

From In a Green Shade A Country Commentary by Maurice Henry Hewlett

A term used among horse-dealers, for burning the mark into a horse's tooth, after he has lost it by age; by bishoping, a horse is made to appear younger than he is.

From 1811 Dictionary of the Vulgar Tongue by Francis Grose

The archdeacon knew his subject, and really understood the business of bishoping, which the others did not; and this was his strong ground.

From Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

The archdeacon knew his subject, and really understood the business of bishoping, which the others did not.

From The World's Greatest Books — Volume 08 — Fiction by Arthur Mee

The archdeacon knew his subject and really understood the business of bishoping, which the others did not, and this was his strong ground.

From Barchester Towers by Anthony Trollope

Have not our Conformists in Scotland hitherto commonly omitted bishoping of children, and the ministration of the sacraments in private places?

From The Works of Mr. George Gillespie (Vol. 1 of 2) by George Gillespie

Related Words

• administrator
• cleric
• director
• patriarch
• pontiff
• pope
• prelate
• priest