Lutheran

American  

[loo-ther-uhn] / ˈlu θər ən /

adjective

1. of or relating to Luther, adhering to his doctrines, or belonging to one of the Protestant churches that bear his name.

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noun

Lutherans plural

1. a follower of Luther or an adherent of his doctrines; a member of the Lutheran Church.

Lutheran British  

/ ˈluːθərən /

noun

1. a follower of Martin Luther or a member of a Lutheran Church

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adjective

1. of or relating to Luther or his doctrines, the most important being justification by faith alone, consubstantiation, and the authority of the Bible

2. of or denoting any Protestant Church that follows Luther's doctrines

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• Lutheranism
  noun
• Lutherism
  noun
• non-Lutheran
  adjective
• pre-Lutheran
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• Lutherans
  plural

Etymology

Origin of Lutheran

First recorded in 1515–25; Luther + -an

Example Sentences

Gas prices were near an apex at the time, and the California Lutheran University student estimates the duo spent $500 to keep his Mazda CX-5 sport-utility vehicle going.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jul. 3, 2026

His father, Reinhold, was a Lutheran pastor, though his true interests were ancient languages, medicine and natural history.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026

La Habra 11, Orange Lutheran 8: The surprising Highlanders, who knocked off top-seeded Murrieta Mesa earlier, have now eliminated Trinity League champion Orange Lutheran in the Division 1 quarterfinals.

From Los Angeles Times • May 21, 2026

Orange Lutheran 17, Chino Hills 14: In a wild Division 1 playoff game, Sierra Nichols and Madelyn Armendariz each had four hits for Orange Lutheran, with Armendariz getting three doubles.

From Los Angeles Times • May 17, 2026

In the same year as Ziegler’s book, there appeared at Wittenberg an edition of Sacrobosco with an introduction by the leading Lutheran theologian and educator, Melanchthon.

From "The Invention of Science" by David Wootton