Christ

American  

[krahyst] / kraɪst /

noun

• Christs
  plural

1. Jesus of Nazareth, held by Christians to be the fulfillment of prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the eventual coming of a Messiah.

2. the Messiah prophesied in the Old Testament (used chiefly in versions of the New Testament).

3. someone regarded as similar to Jesus of Nazareth.

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interjection

1. Sometimes Offensive. (used as an oath or strong expression of disbelief, dismay, awe, disappointment, pain, etc.)

Christ British  

/ kraɪst /

noun

1. Jesus of Nazareth (Jesus Christ), regarded by Christians as fulfilling Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah

2. the Messiah or anointed one of God as the subject of Old Testament prophecies

3. an image or picture of Christ

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interjection

1. taboo an oath expressing annoyance, surprise, etc

Christ ¹ Cultural  

1. A title for Jesus meaning “Messiah” or “anointed one.”

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Christ ² Cultural  

1. A title by which Christians (see also Christian) refer to Jesus. The word is a Greek translation of the Hebrew messiah, meaning “the anointed one.”

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Christly
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Christs
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Christ

Learned respelling of Middle English, Old English Crīst < Latin Chrīstus < Greek chrīstos anointed, translation of Hebrew māshīaḥ anointed, Messiah

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Christ Christs

Assigning yourself the heavy duty of curing all disorders, however, strikes me as even more hubristic than comparing oneself to Jesus Christ.

From Slate ● Jul. 31, 2026

That painting depicts Christ on the cross, with a painter standing beneath him dressed in a mauve-pink-and-brown cloak.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 24, 2026

Christ was cornered — pay taxes to Rome, or be branded a traitor — and so he turned the trap into a statement about the limits of power.

From Salon ● Jul. 18, 2026

Oppenheimer analyst Christ Kotowski wrote in an early note to clients that with the bank’s revenue rising 14.6% and expenses just 8.4% “all was good on the efficiency front.”

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 14, 2026

It was not, of course, unknown: Christianity, after all, was named after Christ.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton

The film is adapted from “The Three Christs of Ypsilanti,” a 1964 book about three patients with paranoid schizophrenia, each of whom claimed to be Jesus.

From New York Times ● Jan. 14, 2020

Three Christs An empathetic psychiatrist treats three men suffering from schizophrenia in 1959 Michaigan.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 1, 2019

But that performance pales compared to his role in Jon Avnet’s Three Christs, where he plays one of a trio of schizophrenics who claim to be Jesus.

From The Verge ● Sep. 22, 2017

They don’t usually believe in flying saucers, like the 39 suicides of Heaven’s Gate, or homegrown Christs with a taste for classic rock, like the Branch Davidians of Waco.

From Salon ● Sep. 15, 2013

Unlike the suffering, earthbound Christs depicted at eye level on the church walls, our Christ Pantocrator was clearly transcendent, all-powerful, heaven- bestriding.

From "Middlesex: A Novel" by Jeffrey Eugenides