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mitzvah

American  
[meets-vah, mits-, mits-vuh] / mitsˈvɑ, mɪts-, ˈmɪts və /
Or mitsvah

noun

Hebrew.

plural

mitzvoth, mitzvot, mitzvos,

plural

mitzvahs

  1. any of the collection of 613 commandments or precepts in the Bible and additional ones of rabbinic origin that relate chiefly to the religious and moral conduct of Jews.

  2. any good or praiseworthy deed.

mitzvah British  
/ ˈmɪtsvə, mitsˈvɑ /

noun

  1. a commandment or precept, esp one found in the Bible

  2. a good deed

"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

Etymology

Origin of mitzvah

First recorded in 1720–30; from Hebrew miṣwāh “command, commandment”

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.

As a child in New Orleans, Mr. Lemann never attended a bar mitzvah or bris; he heard neither Yiddish nor Hebrew.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 26, 2026

My kid has her bat mitzvah in February.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 26, 2025

My brother had his bar mitzvah at the mountaintop fortress of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea.

From Salon • Nov. 30, 2025

If it’s your niece’s bat mitzvah, it’s suddenly like: Are you supposed to give $18,000 instead of $360?

From Barron's • Oct. 10, 2025

REELTOK: Here's question one: In the Jewish faith, a bar mitzvah signifies the beginning of manhood.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

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.