ministry
Americannoun
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ministries
plural
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the service, functions, or profession of a minister of religion.
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the body or class of ministers of religion; clergy.
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the service, function, or office of a minister of state.
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the body of ministers of state.
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(usually initial capital letter) any of the administrative governmental departments of certain countries usually under the direction of a minister of state.
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(usually initial capital letter) the building that houses such an administrative department.
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the term of office of a minister of state.
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an act or instance of ministering; ministration; service.
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something that serves as an agency, instrument, or means.
noun
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the profession or duties of a minister of religion
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the performance of these duties
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ministers of religion or government ministers considered collectively
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the tenure of a minister
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a government department headed by a minister
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the buildings of such a department
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Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of ministry
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English, from Latin ministerium, from minister minister + -ium -ium
Explanation
If you are discussing the duties of your minister or rabbi, you are talking about his or her ministry — the work the religious leader does in serving a congregation. The noun ministry also refers to a group of clergy. Even if you do not lead a religious community, you can still have a ministry, as the word means to provide information or services about an organization or cause. The charity can have a ministry to serve homeless people. The noun ministry can also refer to a government department. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Ministry of Defense oversees the armed forces. A ministry can also be the building where this sort of government work occurs.
Vocabulary lists containing ministry
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
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"Give Me Liberty or Give Me Death" by Patrick Henry (1775)
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
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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:
Tokyo's defence ministry posted on X that "something that may be a ballistic missile has been launched from North Korea", later saying there was no impact "on the areas around Japan".
From Barron's ● Aug. 6, 2026
An interior ministry spokesman later said: "I can confirm that the drone was found at Leipzig-Halle Airport. Beyond that, I unfortunately cannot say anything at the moment."
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
In his statement, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said the "geographical coordinates of the route" had been agreed with Oman.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Colorado has an open gubernatorial seat, where state attorney general Phil Weiser, a Democrat, faces Republican Victor Marx, a Christian ministry leader and former Marine.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Gabriel came, from all his times and ages, to curse the sister who had held him to scorn and mocked his ministry.
From "Go Tell It on the Mountain" by James Baldwin
To make visits cooler, the ministries of tourism and culture are allowing some attractions to stay open into the evening.
From BBC ● Aug. 4, 2026
The targets included an institute specialized in sensitive technologies backed by the minister of defense, networks of the defense and foreign affairs ministries, and an entity in France’s judicial sector.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
It presented itself as a body created to attract foreign investment into Africa's most populous country, operating from an office inside the Federal Secretariat in Abuja - the huge complex that houses Nigeria's government ministries.
From BBC ● Jul. 11, 2026
He also announced an overhaul of the state bureaucracy that would reduce the number of ministries and trim the the state workforce, a plan that requires parliamentary approval in July.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
He also found that the evangelical ministries were hobbled without adequate salaries to attract professional staff members and without centers of their own where students could gather, socialize, and study the Bible.
From "Class Matters" by The New York Times
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.
