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.
Theater. gods,
the upper balcony in a theater.
the spectators in this part of the balcony.
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.
the Supreme Being considered with reference to a particular attribute.
May the God of mercy comfort you.
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
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
First recorded before 900; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch god, German Gott, Old Norse goth, Gothic guth
see origin at god ( def. )
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.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Priests used this odd object, divided into zones inscribed with the name of a god, as a teaching tool: In a sacrificed animal, departures from the liver’s usual features were viewed as messages from deities.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 18, 2026
The angry sea god Poseidon is reduced to rumors; mighty Zeus withheld to a few well-timed thunderclaps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
Authorities at the grand temple to Hindu god Ram in the northern Indian city of Ayodhya have announced a leadership overhaul after allegations that tens of millions of rupees received in donations have been stolen.
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
"I didn't realise how special the recordings were until we listened back and thought 'oh my god, we were really on fire,'" guitarist Lynval Golding told BBC Radio 2.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026
I don't know if it was a "god surge," but I felt the atmosphere change.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
“That’s when I got mad. Like, ‘Oh, my God.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 23, 2026
It also said: "God is still holding your body together, every heartbeat, every breath, even when it feels like you are on the brink."
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
“It is really a miracle that no one was killed doing this, but thank God nobody was, and we’re not going to get anybody hurt taking it off either.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
“And I used to say, ‘Well, God, I want to be him.
From Slate ● Jul. 22, 2026
Please work, I beg God or the universe or whatever is listening.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
That made its giant beast gods feel real too, along with their snarling rage against annihilation.
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
In this middle area, too, a landscape and the sea, also associated with Incan gods, are visible above a stone wall much like those the Incas built.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026
Outflanked by cruel and fickle gods at every turn, legendary Greek hero Odysseus outsmarted a one-eyed giant, suffered through the bewitching Sirens’ song and braved the Underworld’s dead denizens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
The social media gods have been good to Matejka, and the Kardashian story is only half of it.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
Do they have language arts classes teaching adolescent gods to write essays in Adinkra symbols?
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
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 Shakespeare, William
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 Thompson, Francis
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 Shakespeare, William
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.
