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

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bishop ² 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 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

“When Mexico plays, many fans pray to the Virgin of Guadalupe to help them push the ball,” said Francisco Acero, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Mexico, who blessed the renovated stadium this year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

The bishop claimed Rev McCartney's allegations were the result of a personal grievance over theological differences.

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

Menjivar-Ayala, who is fluent in English, Spanish and Italian, was ordained as a priest in 2004 and became a bishop in 2023.

From Barron's ● May 1, 2026

Samir was down to a king and a bishop, but he sat clear-eyed.

From "The Many Assassinations of Samir, the Seller of Dreams" by Daniel Nayeri

The research was led by recent doctoral graduate Sasha Bishop in collaboration with University of Toronto researcher John Stinchcombe.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 4, 2026

Michael McIntyre, Jimmy Carr, Aisling Bea, John Bishop and Mo Gilligan are among the comics who will perform at the event.

From BBC ● Sep. 4, 2026

"The march today was very violent," said Bishop Raphael, who is from the DRC.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Like many advisers, Bishop has continued to view bonds as a key source of portfolio stability.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026

And the truth was that I was nervous about being alone with Julia Bishop.

From "100 Sideways Miles" by Andrew Smith

Leo recently warned the group against moving forward with its plans to consecrate the bishops in open defiance of his authority.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 2026

At one point in the 1980s, bishops from the Society were excommunicated for disobeying Rome, but that decision was later reversed.

From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026

The Vatican has declared a formal schism with the Society of St. Pius X, excommunicating its bishops and priests in a sweeping crackdown on a traditionalist group that has vexed the Holy See for decades.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 2, 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

No princes had lived in those wretched hovels, no red-robed bishops, only farmers and laborers whose stories no one had written down, and now they were lost, buried under wild thyme and fast-growing spurge.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Related Words

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