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• communion
  communion

  noun

  Often Communion
• Communion
  Communion

  noun

  the act of participating in the Eucharist

communion

American  

[kuh-myoon-yuhn] / kəˈmjun jən /

noun

• communions
  plural

1. Also called Holy Communion.  Christianity. Often Communion

   1. the celebration of the Eucharist .

   2. the act of receiving the Eucharistic elements.

   3. the elements of the Eucharist; the consecrated bread and wine.

   4. the antiphon sung at a Eucharistic service.

2. a group of persons having a common religious faith; a religious denomination.

   The Church of Pakistan is part of the Anglican communion.

   The organization promotes Islamic solidarity and fosters a sense of belonging to the Islamic communion worldwide.

3. a group of people sharing a profession, hobby, interest, etc..

   Just as there are rascals in the communion of bankers, editors, doctors, or barbers, so there are rascals among fishermen.

4. interchange or sharing of thoughts or emotions; intimate communication.

   Each day I spend some time walking the trails in communion with nature.

   The two enjoyed a wordless communion in the comfort of each other’s company.

5. association; fellowship.

   Light has no communion with darkness.

6. the act of sharing something or holding it in common, or the state of something so held.

   Fundamental to Scots law was the “communion of goods,” the joint ownership of property by spouses.

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Communion ¹ British  

/ kəˈmjuːnjən /

noun

1. the act of participating in the Eucharist

2. the celebration of the Eucharist, esp the part of the service during which the consecrated elements are received

3. 1. the consecrated elements of the Eucharist

   2. ( as modifier )

      Communion cup

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communion ² British  

/ kəˈmjuːnjən /

noun

1. an exchange of thoughts, emotions, etc

2. possession or sharing in common; participation

3. (foll by with) strong emotional or spiritual feelings (for)

   communion with nature

4. a religious group or denomination having a common body of beliefs, doctrines, and practices

5. the spiritual union held by Christians to exist between individual Christians and Christ, their Church, or their fellow Christians

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Communion Cultural  

1. A sacrament of Christianity. In a reenactment of the Last Supper, the words of Jesus — “This is my body” and “This is my blood” — are spoken over bread and wine (the elements of Communion), which are then shared by the worshipers. Communion, also known as the Eucharist, commemorates the death of Jesus. (See transubstantiation.)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-communion
  noun
• communionable
  adjective
• communional
  adjective
• communionally
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• communions
  plural

Etymology

Origin of communion

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin commūniōn-, stem of commūniō “mutual participation, sharing,” from commūn(is) common + -iō -ion

Explanation

A communion is an intimate connection. Many people enjoy hiking in the woods in order to have a sort of communion with nature. When you connect in a meaningful way with something, or intimately share your feelings with someone, you experience a communion. The word implies a deep connection, particularly a spiritual one. A Communion, with a capital C and also called Holy Communion, is a Christian religious service involving consecrated bread and wine. The Latin root of communion is communionem, meaning "fellowship, mutual participation, or sharing."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

communion Communion communions

By tomorrow, in communion with millions of others, they will be able to say: "I saw it!"

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

Playing the Dead’s “Blues for Allah” on this tour — an LP rooted in Middle Eastern scales, pirouetting time signatures and improvisational telepathy — put him in communion with his old friend.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 3, 2026

"Views on this have been widely and boldly expressed in recent months and we are acting in communion with our beloved audiences, and extraordinary artists," she says.

From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026

Another person added to the communion of our family and hopefully to that of the Church.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 5, 2026

That blank look would remain on his face until Father Benedict ended the sermon, until it was time for communion.

From "Purple Hibiscus" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Though I don’t regularly attend Mass, I fondly remember the two years in high school when I prepared for the sacrament of Communion.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 19, 2026

Vance’s new book, Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith, is a thoughtful read.

From Slate ● Jun. 18, 2026

Most recently, Communion was included on the Observer's best debut novelists of 2026 - a list which previously picked out bestsellers including Rooney's Conversation with Friends and The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton.

From BBC ● May 31, 2026

When Eucharistic ministers moved through aisles to distribute Communion, they had to tiptoe around knees and handbags.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026

Mam tells Dad it’s a strange thing when a child won’t have his bread and tea and Dad says, Och, he’s just nervous over the First Communion.

From "Angela's Ashes: A Memoir" by Frank McCourt

He attended Catholic school and remembers an active community in Mobile filled with baptisms, weddings and first communions.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2025

She also photographs baptisms and first communions and is now testing recipes that incorporate cacao, coconut, lime and other regional crops with hopes of opening a café.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 29, 2023

In mid-March, the Amsterdam church became one of at least 160 Orthodox parishes worldwide that have sought to break ties with the Moscow Patriarchate and join other Orthodox communions.

From Salon ● Mar. 26, 2022

Five Christian world communions — including the World Communion of Reformed Churches, the Lutheran World Federation and the Mennonite World Conference — will be holding a joint Ash Wednesday prayer service for peace in Ukraine.

From Washington Post ● Mar. 1, 2022

The Church in each place looked at first sight as but one out of a number of religious communions, with little of a very distinctive character except to the careful inquirer.

From An Essay on the Development of Christian Doctrine by John Henry Cardinal Newman

Related Words

• intimacy
• rapport
• togetherness