god
noun
one of several deities, especially a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs.
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god
1 American
[god]
/ gɒd /
noun
-
gods
plural
-
one of several deities, especially a male deity, presiding over some portion of worldly affairs.
-
an image of a deity; an idol.
-
any deified person or object.
-
a nebulous powerful force imagined to be responsible for one's fate.
The god of poker dealt me two aces.
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Theater. gods,
-
the upper balcony in a theater.
-
the spectators in this part of the balcony.
-
verb (used with object)
godded,
godding
God
2
American
[god]
/ gɒd /
noun
-
the Supreme Being, worshiped as the creator or ultimate source of the universe.
-
the Supreme Being according to a particular religion or conception.
She called upon Allah, the God of Islam, for help.
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the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute.
May the God of mercy comfort you.
interjection
god
1
British
/ ɡɒd /
noun
-
a supernatural being, who is worshipped as the controller of some part of the universe or some aspect of life in the world or is the personification of some force
-
an image, idol, or symbolic representation of such a deity
-
any person or thing to which excessive attention is given
money was his god
-
a man who has qualities regarded as making him superior to other men
-
(in plural) the gallery of a theatre
God
2
British
/ ɡɒd /
noun
-
theol the sole Supreme Being, eternal, spiritual, and transcendent, who is the Creator and ruler of all and is infinite in all attributes; the object of worship in monotheistic religions
-
to behave in an imperious or superior manner
interjection
God
Idioms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of god1
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch god, German Gott, Old Norse goth, Gothic guth
Origin of God2
see origin at god ( def. )
Explanation
A god is a supreme being or deity, and it's spelled with a lowercase g when you're not referring to the God of Christian, Jewish, or Muslim tradition. The ancient Greeks had many gods — including Zeus, Apollo, and Poseidon. A physical representation of a deity is also called a god. If you go to Hawaii, you can even buy a god in a gift shop — a statue or idol that represents one of the Hawaiian gods, like a figure of the god Pele. The word god also refers to a man of superior quality or exceptional beauty. Elvis Presley was considered a god by many teenage girls in the late 1950s.
Vocabulary lists containing god
Reading: Literature - Mythology - Introductory
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Reading: Literature - Mythology - Middle School
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Ancient Greece: Mythology and Literature - Middle School
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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:
"There's such an incredible aura around him of just, 'Oh god, it's Ian McKellen'."
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
She and the president also have access to A.I., which they can ask to generate endless images of him as a warrior, god, rock star or other powerful character.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
Pay homage to a statue of the Egyptian god Horus, whose headdress recalls Natalie Portman’s Queen Amidala, and a Hopi katsina doll of an ogre with the same beak as Jar Jar Binks.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Down a quiet residential lane in central Taipei, behind the stalls of a farmers market, I found a shrine to the area’s Taoist earth god.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
"There is no god but Allah, and Muhammad is His messenger," said Ishtar.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
"I believe in forgiveness, and a God who forgives. I always have and I still do," the AI version of Pelkey - wearing a grey baseball cap - continued.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
Number one, that I am made by a loving God that calls me to love other people, and that ought to be the baseline.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2026
“I thought, ‘Oh my God, this is a nightmare,’” said Lyndsey Falb, a stay-at-home mom and skincare business owner who has lived in Wrightwood for more than 30 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 27, 2026
A poll last year by the Observatory of French Catholicism, a nonprofit, found that 59% of people in France don’t believe in God.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 26, 2026
God, why did he have to make this so hard?
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
The city grew by drawing people from across India and beyond, bringing their gods and rituals with them.
From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026
And many investors, in my experience, worry that October is cursed by the market gods.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
Here we see the real history butting up against the expected fantasy of Norse legends, warriors and gods.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 23, 2026
I do not have faith in gods the way my ancestors had faith in Zeus.
From Salon ● Sep. 9, 2026
It was said that each of the six gods had been born from the universe’s own teardrop, three drops each from two eyes to create six immortal beings.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
This last old man, Whom with crack'd heart I have sent to Rome, Lov'd me above the measure of a father; Nay, godded me indeed.
From Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
This last old man, Whom with a crack'd heart I haue sent to Rome, Lou'd me, aboue the measure of a Father, Nay godded me indeed.
From Coriolanus by William Shakespeare
The earth not paeans thee, nor serves thy hest, Be godded not by Heaven! avert thy face, And leave to blank disgrace The oblivious world! unsceptre thee of state and place!
From New Poems by Francis Thompson
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.
