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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

Lowe, who later became a bishop, had been an enthusiastic supporter of NOS and waved away concerns from fellow clergy as early as 1992.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

As the bishop of Rochester from 1966 to 1969, he made some decisions that drew criticism, even hostility, from members of the diocese.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 24, 2026

Donal McKeown has spent the past quarter of a century as a bishop, but on Sunday he will say his final Mass as head of the diocese after 12 years.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

Culiacan's bishop, Jesus Jose Herrera, called on the gang members to stop the violence: "No territory and no ambition is worth more than a human life."

From Barron's ● Sep. 13, 2026

When he had gone to the bishop to be made a clerk in the first place, he had taken a pair of scissors with him.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

Soon, though, Bishop and company have a less ambiguous case at hand.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

First ordained in 1976, Saunders spent most of his career in the remote Kimberley region in the nation's north-west corner, and was appointed Bishop of Broome in 1996.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

The Bishop of Liverpool the Rt Rev Ruth Worsley and Bishop of Warrington the Rt Rev Simon Robinson said they are "deeply saddened to hear of the devastating incident".

From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026

Amazon has blocked Muse from shopping on its platform, as GeekWire’s Todd Bishop pointed out on Sunday, saying Meta never got permission.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 22, 2026

Somehow, I didn’t think it was overly strange for Julia Bishop to have a boyfriend who was probably in his forties, even if it was really creepy.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

The investigations are commissioned by the pontiff and were introduced in 2019 to combat sexual abuse and hold bishops and other high-ranking Catholic Church officials accountable for their actions.

From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026

French bishops report that 13,234 adults were baptized this year in the country.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

On Wednesday, however, the group went ahead and consecrated the four bishops in a Mass in Switzerland before thousands of followers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

In response, the Society's total of six bishops were excommunicated - and, in a highly unusual move, the Vatican said all the group's lay members "are to be considered schismatic and excommunicated".

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

Who will be the kings, the rooks, and bishops rising up to strike at a distance?

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

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

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

His method was by no means soft; on the contrary, it was hard, rapid, severe,—somewhat on the model of Tryggveson's, though with more of bishoping and preaching superadded.

From Early Kings of Norway by Thomas Carlyle

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

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

Related Words

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