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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

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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

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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

Leo heads to Argentina on Sunday, followed by Peru, where the Chicago-born pontiff served as a missionary priest and bishop for two decades and holds citizenship.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

His schedule includes a return to the diocese of Chiclayo where he was ordained bishop in 2014 and remained until Francis moved him to the Vatican almost a decade later.

From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026

"We also wish to express our sincere gratitude to the emergency services, gardaí, firefighters and medical personnel who responded to the scene and who have faced such distressing circumstances," the bishop added.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Leo XIV was born in the US city of Chicago but lived in Peru for more than two decades, where he was a missionary and bishop in Chiclayo.

From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026

Godwin was a bishop and a crackpot; he seems to have believed that he had invented the radio.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

Bishop Amat has already taken a big leap in the second season for coach Kory Minor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

The Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, Alphonsus Cullinan, described it as an "unspeakable tragedy" which had shocked the entire city.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

In 1650 Godfrey Goodman - the Bishop of Gloucester - was banished there by Oliver Cromwell for his religious beliefs.

From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026

The performance of JSerra quarterback Hayes Cloutier last week against Bishop Amat perfectly explains the trend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 23, 2026

“You haven’t forgotten me, have you? Bishop House, number ten?”

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt

In April 2023, he moved to Rome as head of the Dicastery for Bishops, the Vatican body responsible for pre-selecting bishops.

From Barron's ● Nov. 5, 2026

But we can’t follow the weak-salsa example of the bishops.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

The backlash against the bishops was furious enough that four of them have since either apologized or insisted that they weren’t endorsing anyone.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

When appointing bishops and archbishops, the Church presents a candidate to the prime minister who then advises the monarch on who to install in the role.

From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2026

The bishops had gathered together earlier in the week and drafted a pastoral letter to be read from every pulpit that Sunday.

From "In the Time of the Butterflies" by Julia Alvarez

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

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

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

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

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

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