credo
noun
the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed.
credo
American
[kree-doh, krey-]
/ ˈkri doʊ, ˈkreɪ- /
noun
-
credos
plural
-
(often initial capital letter) the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed.
-
(often initial capital letter) a musical setting of the creed, usually of the Nicene Creed.
-
any creed or formula of belief.
- Synonyms:
- philosophy, tenet, doctrine
Credo
1
British
/ ˈkriːdəʊ, ˈkreɪ- /
noun
-
the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed
-
a musical setting of the Creed
credo
2
British
/ ˈkriːdəʊ, ˈkreɪ- /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of credo
1150–1200; Middle English < Latin: literally, I believe; first word of the Apostles' and Nicene Creeds in Latin
Explanation
Credo is Latin for, literally, "I believe," and originally meant a particular religious belief. Now it has the far broader meaning of any system of principles that guide a person or group. There's often a faintly jokey air to the word as used today, perhaps in recognition that it once popularly held such a high-minded meaning. A hedonist's credo might be simply "party on," or "enjoy the ride;" an actor's "the show must go on." Politicians have credos, and so too, presumably, do rappers and weather forecasters.
Vocabulary lists containing credo
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
Believe It or Not: Cred
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
cred
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
Irving calls this decade a time to continue to contribute, and he’s living that credo.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 23, 2026
Goodbye to the credo: “Rain or shine, I never miss a Sunday morning at church.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026
Its credo was “a rejection of powerlessness and the creation of conditions for civilized behavior. We are not overmatched by the problems we face.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026
If David Nihill was a philosopher, his credo might be “I digress, therefore I am.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 13, 2026
By translating credo into the English first person plural, we believe, the Church no longer reminds the listener that he is alone.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
Coherent and Credo Technology each fell 13%, Marvell fell 7.8%, ARM Holdings fell 6.7% and Intel lost 6.6%.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 18, 2026
Credo Technology Group shook off a premarket decline and jumped 6.6% after the electrical cable maker forecast that its revenue growth would slow over the current quarter.
From Barron's ● Jun. 2, 2026
Credo makes products used for high-speed data connections within AI data centers and counts Amazon as one of its major customers.
From Barron's ● Apr. 21, 2026
The companies’ combined portfolio is expected to drive more than $500 million in optical revenue in fiscal 2027, Credo said.
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
Ashburnham, Lord, his MSS. of the Credo, iii.
From Chips from a German Workshop - Volume IV Essays chiefly on the Science of Language by F. Max (Friedrich Max) Müller
Bronner inherited his verbosity and gumption from his grandfather, Emanuel Bronner, who originally crammed all-caps, feel-good credos onto the labels of his soap bottles in the 1940s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
All of these sports have their own history and methods; specific forms, procedures and even credos that those who take up the fight swear by.
From Salon ● Oct. 4, 2025
Here’s a look at crackpot credos that flourished and foundered in L.A.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2022
The game studios even established their own separate set of principles, although the credos frequently changed and sometimes were in tension with one another, say four people who worked there.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 29, 2021
Religions of the world, with their respective credos and objects and forms of worship.
From The Nuttall Encyclopædia Being a Concise and Comprehensive Dictionary of General Knowledge by P. Austin Nuttall
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.
