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:
"The ministry advises the public, especially young people, to remain fully alert and highly vigilant."
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
“He carried that with him,” said Phyllis Cannom, his wife of 51 years, of his time studying the ministry.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
Asked whether he missed his old job, the 35-year-old replied "No", citing the relentless stress of managing Ukraine's war with Russia while transforming its defence ministry.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
The ship will leave for Felixstowe in Britain, Rotterdam in the Netherlands and Gdansk in Poland before returning, with the voyage expected to take about 45 days, according to the ministry.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
Born the grandson of a preacher in Hickory, North Carolina, in 1928, Douglas Moore decided to follow his grandfather into the Methodist ministry and in 1951 he enrolled as a divinity student at Boston University.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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
He said meetings between investors and government ministries -- sometimes involving confidential information -- can help calm some fears and promote a better image of the country and region.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
BBC News Pidgin found the agency had secured office space within the Federal Secretariat, the sprawling government complex housing many ministries in Abuja.
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 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
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.
