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  • credo
    credo
    noun
    the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed.
  • Credo
    Credo
    noun
    the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed
Synonyms

credo

American  
[kree-doh, kray-] / ˈkri doʊ, ˈkreɪ- /

noun

  • credos
    plural
  1. (often initial capital letter) the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed.

  2. (often initial capital letter) a musical setting of the creed, usually of the Nicene Creed.

  3. any creed or formula of belief.

    Synonyms:
    philosophy, tenet, doctrine

Credo 1 British  
/ ˈkriːdəʊ, ˈkreɪ- /

noun

  1. the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed

  2. a musical setting of the Creed

"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

credo 2 British  
/ ˈkriːdəʊ, ˈkreɪ- /

noun

  1. any formal or authorized statement of beliefs, principles, or opinions

"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

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.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing credo

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:

It also updated the principles that make up the “Novo Way,” the company’s longstanding internal credo, to focus on customers, competitiveness and speed.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 14, 2026

Glaser’s aesthetic credo for the venue was appropriately grandiose: “A journey to the promised land, an adventure in imagination, the pursuit of the unexpected.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

The cover of his book touts his grandfather’s credo of God first and family second.

From Salon ● Jun. 9, 2026

Goodbye to the credo: “Rain or shine, I never miss a Sunday morning at church.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 2, 2026

To support this credo, he submitted a goodly number of original drawings and oil paintings.

From "Nine Stories" by J. D. Salinger

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

Analysts believe Credo could potentially be a winner from the AI boom because the company makes the copper cables needed to connect servers.

From Barron's ● Jun. 1, 2026

Astera Labs provides semiconductor connectivity, Credo offers high-speed data connections, and Marvell works on AI chips for Amazon.

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

He asked those who promised to say a Pater and the Credo for him to hold up their hands.

From Bartholomew Sastrow Being the Memoirs of a German Burgomaster by Bartholomew Sastrow

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

You write that you find seven of the Puritan credos "to be most pervasive and problematic" and you devote a chapter to each.

From Salon ● May 26, 2025

There are credos that both teams have been oft-repeating for the last few days.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 29, 2023

Here’s a look at crackpot credos that flourished and foundered in L.A.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 21, 2022

After all thy tonsures and chorales, thy credos and sackcloth, wilt thou admit the Evil One in the guise of a melody, in whose chromatic intervals lie dimpled cheek and sunny tress!

From Franz Liszt by James Huneker

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