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• creed
  creed

  noun

  any system, doctrine, or formula of religious belief, as of a denomination.
• Creed
  Creed

  noun

  Frederick. 1871–1957, Canadian inventor, resident in Scotland from 1897, noted for his invention of the teleprinter, first used in 1912

creed

American  

[kreed] / krid /

noun

• creeds
  plural

1. any system, doctrine, or formula of religious belief, as of a denomination.

   Synonyms:

   dogma, credo, conviction, faith

2. any system or codification of belief or of opinion.

   Synonyms:

   dogma, credo, conviction, faith

3. an authoritative, formulated statement of the chief articles of Christian belief, as the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed, or the Athanasian Creed.

4. the creed. Apostles' Creed.

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creed ¹ British  

/ kriːd /

noun

1. a concise, formal statement of the essential articles of Christian belief, such as the Apostles' Creed or the Nicene Creed

2. any statement or system of beliefs or principles

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Creed ² British  

/ kriːd /

noun

1. Frederick. 1871–1957, Canadian inventor, resident in Scotland from 1897, noted for his invention of the teleprinter, first used in 1912

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• creedlessness
  noun
• precreed
  noun
• credal
  adjective
• creedal
  adjective
• creeded
  adjective
• creedless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• creeds
  plural

Etymology

Origin of creed

First recorded before 1000; Middle English crede, Old English crēda, from Latin crēdō “I believe”; see credo

Explanation

Without reading the long document about the group's beliefs — its creed — he knew he didn't fit in, because he just couldn't bow to the 12-foot statue of a rabbit, no matter what it symbolized. A creed can be a formal doctrine, or system of beliefs, for a church or religious group, or it can be a philosophy, or personal set of beliefs. The origins of the word are in the Latin crēdō, "I believe," once specific to the Christian faith, but by the 17th century it was used for many different faiths. Companies, societies, and disciplines might also adopt a creed — as in a political creed, a national creed, or a management creed — that lays out a particular belief-system or way of doing things.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

creed Creed creeds

The new prime minister looked at ease making an argument and articulating his political creed.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026

Resistance at first was fierce, since the idea had never been tried and putting puffin chicks at risk seemed antithetical to the Audubon Society’s creed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026

Why does management always forget the No. 1 creed of business: Delight your customers?

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026

Instead of suffering through that, I watched people of every imaginable race, creed, sexual orientation and color enjoying life.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

Mr. Stonecrop intoned his creed and smiled as if pleased with himself.

From "Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy" by Gary D. Schmidt

Is the Assassin's Creed Black Flag remake worth the 13 year wait?

From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026

Ospreay's ring nickname comes from his love of video game series Assassin's Creed, and admits he effectively "ripped off" elements for his wrestling.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

“This is the first time in company history that we have generated over $20 billion in sales and revenues in a single quarter,” Chief Executive Joe Creed said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

The year-on-year comparison was weighed down by the lack of a major release in the quarter to contend with last year's blockbuster "Assassin's Creed Shadows", released in March, Ubisoft said in a statement.

From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026

Diego howled—earning us glares from the preppy parents who probably presumed we were drunk—and the wave of bad music continued to assault our ears as Creed blurred into Nickelback.

From "We Are the Ants" by Shaun David Hutchinson

Judaism has its creeds and values, but the Jewish people are anything but a consensus-minded group of true believers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026

For decades Auroville held fast to its lofty ideals as a self-governing haven for yoga enthusiasts and seekers of spiritual freedom of "all creeds and nationalities".

From Barron's ● Jun. 25, 2026

“No other community on the face of the globe has given rise to half as many mystic, philosophical, psychological, occult, consciousness-raising, therapeutic and alternative creeds as 20th century L.A.,”

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 8, 2025

It uses a notoriously vague and bureaucratic 14-factor test, which includes things like regular worship services, established creeds, and an ordained clergy.

From Slate ● May 22, 2025

I watched him closely that night, and to me it seemed he was trying to live in both worlds, to be a loyal adherent to all creeds.

From "Educated" by Tara Westover

Related Words

• doctrine
• dogma
• faith
• ideology
• persuasion
• profession
• religion
• tenet