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• canon
  canon

  noun

  an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or other competent authority and, in the Roman Catholic Church, approved by the pope.
• cañon
  cañon

  noun

  a variant spelling of canyon

canon

¹ American  

[kan-uhn] / ˈkæn ən /

noun

1. an ecclesiastical rule or law enacted by a council or other competent authority and, in the Roman Catholic Church, approved by the pope.

2. the body of ecclesiastical law.

3. the body of rules, principles, or standards accepted as axiomatic and universally binding in a field of study or art.

   the neoclassical canon.

4. a fundamental principle or general rule.

   the canons of good behavior.

5. a standard; criterion.

   the canons of taste.

6. the books of the Bible recognized by any Christian church as genuine and inspired.

7. any officially recognized set of sacred books.

8. any comprehensive list of books within a field.

9. the works of an author that have been accepted as authentic.

   There are 37 plays in the Shakespeare canon.

10. established or agreed-upon constraints governing the background narrative, setting, storyline, characters, etc., in a particular fictional world.

    It’s accepted as canon that vampires are harmed by sunlight.

11. a catalog or list, as of the saints acknowledged by the Church.

12. Liturgy. the part of the Mass between the Sanctus and the Communion.

13. Eastern Church. a liturgical sequence sung at matins, usually consisting of nine odes arranged in a fixed pattern.

14. Music. consistent, note-for-note imitation of one melodic line by another, in which the second line starts after the first.

15. Printing. a 48-point type.

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canon ² American  

[kan-uhn] / ˈkæn ən /

noun

1. one of a body of dignitaries or prebendaries attached to a cathedral or a collegiate church; a member of the chapter of a cathedral or a collegiate church.

2. Roman Catholic Church. one of the members canons regular of certain religious orders.

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canon ¹ British  

/ ˈkænən /

noun

1. Christianity a Church decree enacted to regulate morals or religious practices

2. (often plural) a general rule or standard, as of judgment, morals, etc

3. (often plural) a principle or accepted criterion applied in a branch of learning or art

4. RC Church the complete list of the canonized saints

5. RC Church the prayer in the Mass in which the Host is consecrated

6. a list of writings, esp sacred writings, officially recognized as genuine

7. a piece of music in which an extended melody in one part is imitated successively in one or more other parts See also round catch

8. a list of the works of an author that are accepted as authentic

9. (formerly) a size of printer's type equal to 48 point

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canon ² British  

/ ˈkænən /

noun

1. one of several priests on the permanent staff of a cathedral, who are responsible for organizing services, maintaining the fabric, etc

2. Also called: canon regular. RC Church a member of either of two religious orders, the Augustinian or Premonstratensian Canons, living communally as monks but performing clerical duties

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cañon ³ British  

/ ˈkænjən /

noun

1. a variant spelling of canyon

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Usage

What does canon mean? A canon is a group of works that contributes to the advancement of a field of study or to an artistic period. Shakespeare’s plays and poetry are considered a part of the canon of English literature, for example. Related to that, canon is also agreed-upon or established constraints within a fictional world, such as vampires being harmed by sunlight. A canon is also a religious rule put in place by someone of authority. In the Roman Catholic Church, for example, rules approved by the pope are considered canon. The body of all the religious laws is also called a canon. Example: The official canon of this writer has 30 works, but some people believe that she wrote over 100 in her lifetime.

Synonym Usage

See principle.

Other Word Forms

• canonlike
  adjective

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Etymology

Origin of canon¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English, from Latin, from Greek kanṓn “measuring rod, rule,” akin to kánna “cane”; see origin at cane

Origin of canon²

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English canoun, chano(u)n, chanoine, from Anglo-French canun, Old French chanoine, from Late Latin canōnicus “(one) under the rule” (i.e., a priest as opposed to a lay person), from Latin “according to or under the rule,” from Greek kanōnikós; see canon ¹, -ic

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Explanation

Canon (one “n”) refers to a collection of rules or texts that are considered to be authoritative. Shakespeare and Chaucer are part of the canon of Western literature, so you might read their work in an English class. A canon can also be a body of work, like the Shakespeare canon, which includes all of the Bard's plays and poems. These days, many schools and colleges include more diverse and underrepresented authors in literature classes and encourage students to read works not included in the standard literary canon. The literary canon can change with time, and so can the cultural canon. Don't confuse this word with cannon with two n's, the big gun that shoots bowling-size balls at the enemy.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

canon cañon

Paramount+, with its catalog of CBS series and the canon of “Yellowstone” creator Taylor Sheridan, offers a slew of All-American programming.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026

Throughout the season, “Lanterns” played upon established canon to thread a host of themes.

From Salon ● Oct. 5, 2026

Former Times staffer Amy Kaufman’s column might have entered Swift’s songwriting canon, as many of the singer’s fans seem to believe today.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 28, 2026

Through constant touring and “tireless promotion of composers we assume were always famous,” Ms. Fritz writes, Clara shaped the musical canon according to her own exquisite ear and sophisticated taste.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 25, 2026

A canon requires students to echo back a pattern, but one measure later.

From "Music and the Child" by Natalie Sarrazin

Both were making their best possible time down the cañon to get a cargo.

From The Columbia River Its History, Its Myths, Its Scenery, Its Commerce by William Denison Lyman

The hoarse roar it made filled all the cañon.

From Delilah of the Snows by Harold Bindloss

They stayed three days in the cañon, and the Tidok people never stopped coming.

From Creation Myths of Primitive America In relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of Mankind by Jeremiah Curtin

The cañon, riven and tortured, through which it descends, is a fitting approach to the lake, unique Chelan.

From The Columbia River Its History, Its Myths, Its Scenery, Its Commerce by William Denison Lyman

Later, taking Mirza and two guides, I forded and followed up the Ab-i-Arjanak for two miles by a most remarkable cañon.

From Journeys in Persia and Kurdistan, Volume II (of 2) Including a Summer in the Upper Karun Region and a Visit to the Nestorian Rayahs by Isabella L. (Isabella Lucy) Bird

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