megachurch

American

[meg-uh-church] / ˈmɛg əˌtʃɜrtʃ /

noun

an independent church with a very large membership in regular attendance, focusing on an evangelical or conservative Christian theology and offering a variety of educational and social activities.

megachurch British

/ ˈmɛɡəˌtʃɜːtʃ /

noun

a church, usually Protestant, with a very large congregation, typically housed in a complex offering sophisticated multimedia presentations and a range of secular facilities and services

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

The evangelical podcast now has millions of listeners and as a result, Halili and Reitsma have built a two-microphone megachurch.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 31, 2025

Mr. Butler-Gallie’s eye for paradox stands him in good stead again in his encounter with a megachurch in Nigeria, where he goes to see whether Christianity still offers “cause for hope.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 19, 2025

Inside the stadium, the mood and atmosphere resembled a raucous political rally or megachurch service with music beforehand from Christian bands who prompted singalongs and prayer from the crowd of almost 100,000.

From BBC • Sep. 21, 2025

Just a few miles from Life Center, an evangelical megachurch that hosted Elon Musk late in the 2024 election season, Pastor Best continues to transform his resplendent church into a community mission.

From Salon • Jul. 21, 2025

Parker is a member of Frazer Church, a Montgomery megachurch that until 2022 was part of the United Methodist Church.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 23, 2024

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023