worship
noun
reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
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worship
American
[wur-ship]
/ ˈwɜr ʃɪp /
noun
-
reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
-
formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage.
They attended worship this morning.
-
adoring reverence or regard.
excessive worship of business success.
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the object of adoring reverence or regard.
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(initial capital letter) a title of honor used in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station (usually preceded by Your, His, orHer ).
verb (used with object)
-
worships,
present (3rd person singular)
-
worshipped,
past, past participle, past (especially British)
-
worshiped,
past participle
-
worshiping,
present participle
-
worshipping
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
-
worships,
present (3rd person singular)
-
worshipped,
past, past participle, past (especially British)
-
worshiped,
past participle
-
worshiping,
present participle
-
worshipping
present participle (especially British)
-
to render religious reverence and homage, as to a deity.
-
to attend services of divine worship.
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to feel an adoring reverence or regard.
worship
1
British
/ ˈwɜːʃɪp /
verb
-
(tr) to show profound religious devotion and respect to; adore or venerate (God or any person or thing considered divine)
-
(tr) to be devoted to and full of admiration for
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(intr) to have or express feelings of profound adoration
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(intr) to attend services for worship
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obsolete (tr) to honour
noun
-
religious adoration or devotion
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the formal expression of religious adoration; rites, prayers, etc
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admiring love or devotion
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archaic dignity or standing
Worship
2
British
/ ˈwɜːʃɪp /
noun
Usage
What does worship mean? Worship is the honor and reverence given to a god or sacred object, as in The holy men would not allow anyone to interrupt their worship of the gods. Worship can also refer to the formal act or ceremony in which a person gives such reverence, as in The family attended worship yesterday. Worship can be used more generally to refer to passionate adoration or devotion of anything, as in I am sometimes disturbed by the creepy worship of celebrities. As a verb, worship can be used in both the religious sense, as in worshipping nature, or the secular sense, as in worshiping the musician at every concert. In American English, worshiped and worshipping are spelled with only one P, while in British English they are spelled with two P’s (worshipped, worshipping). Self-worship is used to refer to someone who reveres or adores themselves, as in The dozens of flattering self-portraits were just one example of the king’s self-worship. Example: My sister worships her cats and is always buying fancy gifts for them.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preworshipnoun
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self-worshipnoun
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self-worshipernoun
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self-worshippernoun
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worshipernoun
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worshippernoun
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misworshipverb
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self-worshipingadjective
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self-worshippingadjective
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unworshipedadjective
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unworshipingadjective
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unworshippedadjective
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unworshippingadjective
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worshipableadjective
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worshipinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
worshipsimple
-
worshipssimple
-
have worshipedperfect
-
have worshippedperfect
-
has worshipedperfect
-
has worshippedperfect
-
am worshipingprogressive
-
am worshippingprogressive
-
are worshipingprogressive
-
are worshippingprogressive
-
is worshipingprogressive
-
is worshippingprogressive
-
have been worshipingperfect progressive
-
have been worshippingperfect progressive
-
has been worshipingperfect progressive
-
has been worshippingperfect progressive
Past
-
worshippedsimple
-
had worshipedperfect
-
had worshippedperfect
-
was worshipingprogressive
-
was worshippingprogressive
-
were worshipingprogressive
-
were worshippingprogressive
-
had been worshipingperfect progressive
-
had been worshippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of worship
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun wors(c)hipe, worthssipe, Old English worthscipe, variant of weorthscipe; Middle English verb derivative of the noun; see origin at worth 1, -ship
Explanation
To worship is to show a lot of love and adoration for something. Religious believers worship gods, and people can worship other people and things too. Worship is an extreme form of love — it's a type of unquestioning devotion. If you worship God, then you love God so much that you don't question him at all. Going to church is a form of worship — so is prayer. People also use the word worship in other cases. If you love a musician or sports star, you might say, "I worship her!" Or someone might say to you, "Man, you need to wake up and stop worshiping him."
Vocabulary lists containing worship
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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:
So had the creation and decoration of Prague’s earliest Jewish synagogue, the Altneuschul, the double-naved Gothic house of worship completed in 1270 that is also the oldest still-active synagogue in Europe.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The saint is revered by Brazil's Catholics but is not recognized as an object of worship by its growing evangelical population.
From Barron's ● Oct. 12, 2026
CGA plans to expand to houses of worship, stadiums and live events.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 9, 2026
Hegseth has also hosted Christian worship services at the Pentagon.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
“These are the topics: Qur’an, seerah, prayers, laws, worship, and general,” says Saint Sarah.
From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali
Mr. Keesee is founder of Frontline Missions International and co-author of “From the Rising of the Sun: A Journey of Worship Around the World.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
Batiste was a surprise winner at last year's ceremony and features in the major categories once again, with his album World Music Radio and song Worship up for the top prizes.
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2023
People pray during the Praise and Worship service.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
On Saturday morning, Cramer was joined by two other pastors for the third annual Pride Worship Service.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 14, 2023
“Your Worship, I submit that I am guilty' of no crime.”
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
Hundreds of people showed up for a midweek vigil at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, where some of the family worships, a few days after Guthrie disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
“This is a church that worships Jesus. Loves one another. Seeks the good of their neighbors.”
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026
Filipino woman worships green statue for 4 years, finds out it is animated character Shrek.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
She still drives her son insane with the way she worships the professor, but she’s not as infuriatingly unreasonable as Chekhov permits her to be.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 19, 2025
He worships the vuvv playboys he works for.
From "Landscape with Invisible Hand" by M.T. Anderson
AI imitation is a growing concern among performers worldwide, and the threat has roiled Japan's storied animation industry, whose voice actors are sometimes worshipped as much as their characters by fans.
From Barron's ● Sep. 27, 2026
His collections were worshipped for their emphasis on individuality.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
As commander-in-chief, he noted, "you are worshipped and loved by all today, not loved by everyone tomorrow, and are guilty of everything the day after tomorrow, with none of your achievements mattering".
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
The image called to mind the golden calf of Abrahamic religious texts, worshipped by the Israelites to Moses’—and God’s—dismay.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
The people worshipped Frey and they loved him, but this did not fill the empty place inside him.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
A church in North Carolina was experiencing a reckoning, and someone on the staff was like, ‘No one wants to talk. We haven’t even worshiped together because of the pandemic.’
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
I love the game too much and, if I am being candid, my team has usually been better than the one everyone around me worshiped, which does wonders for a boy’s sense of belonging.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Younger players may have worshiped Williams, but many of them were hitting back just as hard.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 22, 2026
In crafting the final season, which finds Homelander demanding to be worshiped as God, the writers drew inspiration from the actions of current and former fascist leaders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
Our ancestors worshiped the Sun,' and they were far from foolish.
From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan
Society is depicted as "worshiping only power and money, despising art, sensitivity, tenderness, where people ...don't talk anymore."
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
Not by banning it or worshiping it, but by designing it to strengthen the irreplaceable human skills that business demands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
It’s also sparked a crisis of faith for many Catholics who have spent their lives worshiping at Sunday Mass and are now questioning whether it’s safe to connect with God in such a public space.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2025
And a growing number of middle-class African Americans are worshiping in more diverse congregations.
From Slate ● Aug. 30, 2024
But the president of the United States was not worshiping in a church.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Chivayo regularly attended the Johane Masowe weChishanu African apostolic church, one of the biggest in Zimbabwe, whose followers can often be seen worshipping outdoors wearing white robes.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
“I’m a regular person, like you,” Hal says, gazing directly through the fourth wall at the tiny people he assumes are worshipping him from afar.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Kingsley Femi Fanwo, Kogi State's information commissioner, blamed Sunday's church raid on bandits, and urged isolated places of worship to "reconsider worshipping in crime prone areas for now until the situation gets better".
From Barron's ● Nov. 30, 2025
The themes of performances at Mr Gopalakrishnan's house include honouring a deified ancestor, venerating a warrior-hunter deity, and worshipping tiger spirits symbolising strength and protection.
From BBC ● Nov. 30, 2024
I had a vague idea that being Christian had something to do with worshipping Yesu, a God who wore a crown of thorns.
From "The Bridge Home" by Padma Venkatraman
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