church
a building for public Christian worship.
public Christian worship of God; a Christian religious service: They attend church regularly.What time does your church start?
the church or the Church, the whole body of Christian believers.
Sometimes Church. any organized group of Christian believers professing the same creed and acknowledging the same ecclesiastical authority; a Christian denomination: the Methodist Church.
that part of the whole Christian body, or of a particular denomination, belonging to the same city, country, nation, etc.: The African church was well represented at the international ecumenical conference.
a body of Christians worshipping in a particular building or constituting one congregation: She is a member of this church.
ecclesiastical organization, power, and affairs, as distinguished from the state: The separation of church and state is entrenched in the U.S. Constitution.
the clergy and religious officials of a Christian denomination: The missionary went wherever the church sent him.
the Christian faith: The early 20th century saw the return of many intellectuals to the church.
the church or the Church, the organized body of professing Christians before the Reformation: In a.d. 325, Constantine summoned the leaders of the Church to a conference at Nicaea.
the Church, the Roman Catholic Church.
the clerical profession or calling: After much study and contemplation, he was prepared to enter the church.
Sometimes Offensive. any non-Christian religious society, organization, or congregation, or its place of public worship: He is part of a Satanist church.
to conduct or bring to church, especially for special services.
South Midland and Southern U.S. to subject to church discipline.
to perform a church service of thanksgiving for (a woman after childbirth).
Origin of church
1Other words from church
- an·ti·church, adjective
- non·church, noun
- pro·church, adjective
Words Nearby church
Other definitions for Church (2 of 2)
Frederick Edwin, 1826–1900, U.S. painter.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use church in a sentence
Science got its start when the likes of Galileo and Copernicus claimed that the church, the state, even Aristotle, could no longer be trusted as authoritative sources of knowledge.
How Pseudoscientists Get Away With It - Facts So Romantic | Stuart Firestein | August 28, 2020 | NautilusI was actually at church when that … I woke up the next morning.
Wherever they were, they always voted — in fire stations, churches, their retirement community.
Hundreds of Thousands of Nursing Home Residents May Not Be Able to Vote in November Because of the Pandemic | by Ryan McCarthy and Jack Gillum | August 26, 2020 | ProPublicaHe escorted her downstairs to get a list of churches and other nonprofit groups that could help her gather enough money.
She Was Sued Over Rent She Didn’t Owe. It Took Seven Court Dates to Prove She Was Right. | by Danielle Ohl, Capital Gazette, and Talia Buford and Beena Raghavendran, ProPublica | August 25, 2020 | ProPublicaOne such change occurred on November 27, 2011, when the church attempted to unify the world’s English-speaking Catholics by having them all use the same wording.
Why do we miss the rituals put on hold by the COVID-19 pandemic? | Sujata Gupta | August 14, 2020 | Science News
The Via Dolorosa ends at the church of the Holy Sepulchre, and is marked by nine stations of the cross.
church bells pealed from St. Catherine of Siena parish one block away.
If they returned to their church, they would be spared a second attack.
Dr. King Goes to Hollywood: The Flawed History of ‘Selma’ | Gary May | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTThe church was not happy with his views, and there was talk of excommunication.
Mario Cuomo, a Frustrating Hero to Democrats, Is Dead at 82 | Eleanor Clift | January 2, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIn a 2009 interview, church apostle Dallin H. Oaks held that the church “does not have a position” on that point.
Your Husband Is Definitely Gay: TLC’s Painful Portrait of Mormonism | Samantha Allen | January 1, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTAmong the Perpendicular additions to the church last named may be noted a very beautiful oaken rood-screen.
The east window in this church has been classed as the A1 of modern painted windows.
Showell's Dictionary of Birmingham | Thomas T. Harman and Walter ShowellHe, with others, thinking the miss-sahib had gone to church, was smoking the hookah of gossip in a neighboring compound.
The Red Year | Louis TracyThe cathedral is the only Spanish parochial church; it cares for two thousand four hundred souls.
The Indians should have a suitable church of their own, and Serrano recommends that the king provide one for them.
British Dictionary definitions for church (1 of 2)
/ (tʃɜːtʃ) /
a building designed for public forms of worship, esp Christian worship
an occasion of public worship
the clergy as distinguished from the laity
(usually capital) institutionalized forms of religion as a political or social force: conflict between Church and State
(usually capital) the collective body of all Christians
(often capital) a particular Christian denomination or group of Christian believers
(often capital) the Christian religion
(in Britain) the practices or doctrines of the Church of England and similar denominations: Compare chapel (def. 4b) Related adjective: ecclesiastical
Church of England to bring (someone, esp a woman after childbirth) to church for special ceremonies
US to impose church discipline upon
Origin of church
1British Dictionary definitions for Church (2 of 2)
/ (tʃɜːtʃ) /
Charlotte. born 1986, Welsh soprano, who made her name with the album Voice of an Angel (1998) when she was 12
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Cultural definitions for church
A group of Christians (see also Christian); church is a biblical word for “assembly.” It can mean any of the following: (1) All Christians, living and dead. (See saints.) (2) All Christians living in the world. (3) One of the large divisions or denominations of Christianity, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, Methodist Church, or Roman Catholic Church. (4) An individual congregation of Christians meeting in one building; also the building itself.
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Other Idioms and Phrases with church
see poor as a churchmouse.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
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