bless
Americanverb (used with object)
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to consecrate or sanctify by a religious rite; make or pronounce holy.
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to request of God the bestowal of divine favor on.
Bless this house.
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to bestow good of any kind upon.
a nation blessed with peace.
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to extol as holy; glorify.
Bless the name of the Lord.
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to protect or guard from evil (usually used as an interjection).
Bless you! Bless your innocent little heart!
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to condemn or curse.
I'll be blessed if I can see your reasoning. Bless me if it isn't my old friend!
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to make the sign of the cross over or upon.
The Pope blessed the multitude.
verb
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to consecrate or render holy, beneficial, or prosperous by means of a religious rite
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to give honour or glory to (a person or thing) as divine or holy
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to call upon God to protect; give a benediction to
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to worship or adore (God); call or hold holy
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(often passive) to grant happiness, health, or prosperity to
they were blessed with perfect peace
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(usually passive) to endow with a talent, beauty, etc
she was blessed with an even temper
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rare to protect against evil or harm
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(interjection) an exclamation of well-wishing
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(interjection)
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a traditional phrase said to a person who has just sneezed
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an exclamation of well-wishing or surprise
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(interjection) an exclamation of surprise
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to be desperately poor
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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blesssimple
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blessessimple
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have blessedperfect
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have blestperfect
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has blessedperfect
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has blestperfect
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am blessingprogressive
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are blessingprogressive
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is blessingprogressive
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have been blessingperfect progressive
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has been blessingperfect progressive
Past
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blessedsimple
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blestsimple
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had blessedperfect
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had blestperfect
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was blessingprogressive
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were blessingprogressive
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had been blessingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bless
First recorded before 950; Middle English blessen, Old English blētsian, blēdsian “to consecrate” (originally done with blood), earlier *blōdisōian ( blōd “blood” + -isō- derivational suffix + -ian verb suffix); see blood
Explanation
To bless is to offer a holy seal of approval, like when a priest blesses water, making holy water. It’s also what people say when you sneeze: bless you, which is short for “may God bless you.” If you go back far enough, the word bless is related to the word blood, because of the blood sprinkled on pagan alters. It moved on to mean “to praise,” and now it’s a little of both (minus the pagans). In religious contexts, things are made holy when they're blessed. Also, people are blessed by good things that happen. People often say things like "I've been blessed with good health.” That means they were lucky to receive such good things.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Because we were poor, and he was supporting this, bless his heart.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026
God bless the Tartan Army in all their beery magnificence.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Leo is due to visit Barcelona on Tuesday and Wednesday, where he will notably bless the Sagrada Familia basilica's recently completed tower, which made it the world's tallest church.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
To come into effect, the New York Legislature still needs to approve the amendment a second time next year, and then voters have to bless the constitutional rewrite in a referendum.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 4, 2026
“Because the good Lord has seen fit to bless you with another day,” she says, coming to my side.
From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen
These are from the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus blesses the poor, the meek and the peacemakers, and then calls on his followers to turn the other cheek and love their enemies.
From Salon ● Jul. 1, 2026
If California blesses liability for the pace of innovation, other states will feel the pull.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 5, 2026
And his mother blesses him with water and basil leaves to keep the bad vibrations away.
From Washington Times ● Sep. 27, 2023
In González’s view, “God blesses those who shake hands with those who need it. I hope that the politicians think of us and give us that helping hand that we need.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2023
He blesses me in Latin, talks to himself in English and I wonder what I did to him.
From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt
She had converted to Catholicism in the 1990s, telling The Times: "To have a church which calls a sin a sin and has done with it is a blessed relief."
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
Speculation began well before the blessed events of July 3rd.
From Salon ● Jul. 9, 2026
He has been blessed with terrific talent but clearly has melded that talent to win games and keep the clubhouse on the same page.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 4, 2026
The stadium contains a chapel housing an image of the Virgin of Guadalupe blessed by Pope John Paul II during his 1999 visit.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026
I’m quickly blessed with the stench of what smells like rotting meat.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
It is “twice blest; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes.”
From New York Times ● Dec. 24, 2017
"The nations, not so blest as thee / Must, in their turns, to tyrants fall; / While thou shalt flourish great and free, / The dread and envy of them all."
From BBC ● Jan. 15, 2016
"In a land where movement is virtue, where the echo of heels clicking rapidly on pavement is inordinately blest, it is a grand, defiant, and edifying gesture to lie down for six months."
From Slate ● Aug. 10, 2015
I blest His name that gave and took, That laid my goods now in the dust.
From The Guardian ● May 26, 2014
And when he had blest Ja-cob he went his way.
From Young Folks' Bible in Words of Easy Reading The Sweet Stories of God's Word in the Language of Childhood by Pollard, Josephine
In February 2025, Stenberg posted a since-deleted nine-minute TikTok addressing the controversy and told followers that Adeyemi had given the actor her blessing when cast as the series’ princess.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2026
It was later confirmed to Pitbull the record had been set at 22,141 bald cap wearers, which he hailed as a "blessing" and an "honour".
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
This reading seems almost absurdly reductive; for one of many differences, Humbert Humbert is well aware that what he is doing is wrong, whereas the Iranian regime is confident it enjoys the blessing of God.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Justice Department’s blessing to buy the Warner assets, which include CNN, HBO, Cartoon Network, Animal Planet and the Warner Bros. film and TV studios in Burbank.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
“Don’t be afraid of my being a blessing to him,” said Estella; “I shall not be that. Come! Here is my hand. Do we part on this, you visionary boy—or man?”
From "Great Expectations" by Charles Dickens
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
