kirk
noun
a church.
kirk
1 American
[kurk, kir k]
/ kɜrk, kɪrk /
noun
kirks
plural
-
Chiefly Scot. and North England. a church.
-
the Kirk, the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian), as distinguished from the Church of England or the Scottish Episcopal Church.
Kirk
2
American
[kurk]
/ kɜrk /
noun
-
Grayson (Louis), 1903–1997, U.S. educator: president of Columbia University 1953–68.
-
a male given name.
kirk
1
British
/ kɜːk, kɪrk /
noun
-
a Scot word for church
-
a Scottish church
Kirk
2
British
/ kɜːk, kɪrk /
noun
Kirk
3
British
/ kɜːk /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of kirk
1150–1200; Middle English (north and Scots ) < Old Norse kirkja church
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:
The 15th Century kirk, which stands next to Linlithgow Palace, was a place of royal worship and the site of Mary Queen of Scots' baptism.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2024
At 13:40 a priceless crown, sword and sceptre, known as the Honours of Scotland, will travel in a vehicle from Edinburgh Castle to the kirk.
From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2023
"How is charlie kirk 28?," chimed Hanna Gais, a senior research analyst at the Southern Poverty Law Center.
From Salon ● Feb. 14, 2022
As an air officer, his job will also be to try to effect an ending to the Tunisian campaign which is less bloody than Dun kirk, less shocking to Germans than the failure at Stalingrad.
From Time Magazine Archive
He had neither sister nor brother, and for many a long year his father had been quietly sleeping in the humble little churchyard that surrounded the ruins of the old parish kirk.
From Kenneth McAlpine A Tale of Mountain, Moorland and Sea by Stables, Gordon
Owens and her allies argue that Kirk was not killed by a lone 23-year-old, instead claiming, dubiously, that evidence points to a broader conspiracy.
From Slate ● Jul. 21, 2026
Dodger Stadium is dripping in lore, from Kirk Gibson’s legendary walk-off home run in 1988 to more history, like Shohei Ohtani playing perhaps the greatest game ever last postseason.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
The hearing featured lengthy debates over the admissibility of evidence - with media lawyers and Kirk representatives arguing passionately for everything to be displayed publicly or at least in the courtroom.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
Twiggs also said that while Robinson occasionally talked about politics, he’d never heard him talk about Kirk before the attack.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 9, 2026
Kirk and Spock had much in common, e.g., their interest in astronomy and their concern for the ship and its crew.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Another of Thomson's Presbyterian kirks, perhaps the most dramatic of all, Queen's Park church, was destroyed by an incendiary bomb dropped by the Germans in 1943.
From BBC ● Mar. 31, 2017
“I ken the ways o’ thae ministers preaching for kirks.
From The Little Minister by Barrie, J. M. (James Matthew)
He had called on Smith "between sermons," as they say in Scotland, and apparently close on the hour for service, since "all the bells of the kirks" were ringing.
From Life of Adam Smith by Rae, John
In Scotland the kirks look exactly suitable to the population which throngs towards them, with sober dress and gait, and countenances of solemnity.
From How to Observe Morals and Manners by Martineau, Harriet
The kirks wi' their steeples, sae bonny an' braw An' publics whauriver ye turned wi' yer ee— 'Tis jist a complete eddication, Dundee!
From Mr. Punch in the Highlands by Various
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.
