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
He worked his way through college, earned an M.D., and then, being a devout member of the Scottish kirk, went on to the University of Edinburgh.
From Time Magazine Archive
In their midst was the plain white kirk.
From Our Journey to the Hebrides by Elizabeth Robins Pennell
Their mission, as Kirk would reiterate at the top of each episode, was “to explore strange new worlds,” “seek out new life and new civilizations” and “boldly go where no man has gone before.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
When Charlie Kirk was alive, his wife Erika had a retrograde role that was easy to understand.
From Salon ● Sep. 8, 2026
“These circumstances support a reasonable inference that defendant was aware that other individuals were positioned near Mr. Kirk when he fired,” Graf said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
In a statement shared after the court proceedings, the Kirk family said the judge's decision "marks an important step" in their "pursuit of justice".
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
I later found out that after the bomb exploded, Kirk took off running outside.
From "While the World Watched: A Birmingham Bombing Survivor Comes of Age during the Civil Rights Movement" by Carolyn Maull McKinstry
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
The articles of the pacification were subscribed June 18th, by the commissioners of both sides, in view of both armies at kirks near Berwick, anno 1639.
From Biographia Scoticana (Scots Worthies) A Brief Historical Account of the Lives, Characters, and Memorable Transactions of the Most Eminent Scots Worthies by John Howie
Soon he was called upon to speak, and in his sounding voice he began to tell of his message from the kirks of Holland, and to commend patience and faithfulness.
From The Men of the Moss-Hags Being a history of adventure taken from the papers of William Gordon of Earlstoun in Galloway by S. R. (Samuel Rutherford) Crockett
He was supportit be all the kirks of the presbiteries.”
From Bygone Church Life in Scotland by Various
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 John Rae
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.
