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• gospel
  gospel

  noun

  the teachings of Jesus and the apostles; the Christian revelation.
• Gospel
  Gospel

  noun

  any of the first four books of the New Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

gospel

American  

[gos-puhl] / ˈgɒs pəl /

noun

• gospels
  plural

1. the teachings of Jesus and the apostles; the Christian revelation.

2. the story of Christ's life and teachings, especially as contained in the first four books of the New Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

3. (usually initial capital letter) any of these four books.

4. something regarded as true and implicitly believed.

   to take his report for gospel.

5. a doctrine regarded as of prime importance.

   political gospel.

6. glad tidings, especially concerning salvation and the kingdom of God as announced to the world by Christ.

7. (often initial capital letter) an extract from one of the four Gospels, forming part of the Eucharistic service in certain churches.

8. gospel music.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or proclaiming the gospel or its teachings.

   a gospel preacher.

2. in accordance with the gospel; evangelical.

3. of or relating to gospel music.

   a gospel singer.

Gospel ¹ British  

/ ˈɡɒspəl /

noun

1. any of the first four books of the New Testament, namely Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John

2. a reading from one of these in a religious service

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gospel ² British  

/ ˈɡɒspəl /

noun

1. Also called: gospel truth.  an unquestionable truth

   to take someone's word as gospel

2. a doctrine maintained to be of great importance

3. Black religious music originating in the churches of the Southern states of the United States

4. the message or doctrine of a religious teacher

5. 1. the story of Christ's life and teachings as narrated in the Gospels

   2. the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ

   3. ( as modifier )

      the gospel story

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gospel Cultural  

1. The “good news” of salvation (see also salvation) (see Gospels). Certain styles of religious music are also called “gospel.” (See spirituals (see also spirituals).)

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nongospel
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• gospels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of gospel

First recorded before 950; Middle English go(d)spell, Old English gōdspell ( see good, spell ²); translation of Greek euangélion “good news” ( see evangel ¹)

Explanation

Follow advice like gospel and you're following it as though it was the final word or authority on the matter. The word gospel comes from the Old English god meaning "good" and spel meaning "news, a story." In Christianity, the term "good news" refers to the story of Jesus Christ's birth, death, and resurrection. Gospel music is heard in church and sung by a gospel choir. Outside of its application to religion, the word gospel is also used to describe an idea or rule that's accepted as undoubtedly true.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

gospel Gospel gospels

The publication took that as gospel, calling Music, Fashion, Film the star's "rock reinvention".

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

You can recite the climbing gospel by heart: Save more, max the match, don’t touch it, buy and hold.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026

Gerstner is a longtime techno-optimist, spreading the gospel of Silicon Valley-style capitalism with the zeal of a revivalist preacher.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 2026

Willis, born July 1, 1951, in Texas but a San Francisco native, grew up around gospel music in his minister father’s Baptist church.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026

Van glanced out the window, into the seminary, a Mormon teaching center where students are allowed to spend a period each school day learning the gospel and earning credits toward seminary graduation.

From "A Deadly Wandering: A Mystery, a Landmark Investigation, and the Astonishing Science of Attention in the Digital Age" by Matt Richtel

The military denied the allegations and issued a detailed defense, saying the systems, code-named Lavender and The Gospel, “are merely tools” for intelligence.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026

Pope Leo has responded to attacks by US President Donald Trump, saying he hoped to be able to preach the Gospel and about peace, but anyone was free to criticise him.

From BBC ● May 5, 2026

“The message of the Gospel is very clear: ‘Blessed are the peacemakers,'” he said, quoting Matthew 5:9, vowing to seek “ways to avoid war any time that’s possible.”

From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026

“I’m not afraid of the Trump administration or of speaking out loudly about the message of the Gospel, which is what the church works for,” Leo XIV said.

From Salon ● Apr. 14, 2026

Andy Blevins says he will return to Virginia Highlands, taking classes at night; the Gospel Gentlemen are no longer booking performances.

From "Class Matters" by The New York Times

It was Tyndale’s personal encounter with the gospels that caused him to risk everything—exile, shame, poverty, imprisonment—to put the Bible into the hands of ordinary people.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 26, 2026

Pagels also points out that the gospels can’t be read as “gospel.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 28, 2025

Many people argue that this cold and punitive spirit has little to do with the Christian gospels, and they are probably right about that.

From Salon ● Nov. 13, 2023

She got some money from her college and entered into an obscure essay contest, writing about the Greek text of one of the gospels.

From Scientific American ● Jun. 22, 2023

So that at eight in the morning half the town was in the square, where Father Nicanor chanted the gospels in a voice that had been lacerated by his pleading.

From "One Hundred Years of Solitude" by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

Related Words

• dogma
• faith
• truth