synagogue

American  

[sin-uh-gog, -gawg] / ˈsɪn əˌgɒg, -ˌgɔg /

Or synagog

noun

• synagogues
  plural

1. a Jewish house of worship, often having facilities for religious instruction.

2. an assembly or congregation of Jews for the purpose of religious worship.

3. the Jewish religion; Judaism.

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synagogue British  

/ ˈsɪnəˌɡɒɡ /

noun

1. 1. a building for Jewish religious services and usually also for religious instruction

   2. ( as modifier )

      synagogue services

2. a congregation of Jews who assemble for worship or religious study

3. the religion of Judaism as organized in such congregations

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synagogue Cultural  

1. In Judaism, a house of worship and learning; also, the congregation that meets there.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• synagogal
  adjective
• synagogical
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• synagogues
  plural

Etymology

Origin of synagogue

1125–75; Middle English synagoge < Late Latin synagōga < Greek synagōgḗ assembly, meeting, equivalent to syn- syn- + agōgḗ, noun use of feminine of agōgós (adj.) gathering, derivative of ágein to bring, lead; akin to Latin agere to drive

Explanation

A synagogue is a Jewish house of worship. A synagogue, sometimes called a temple or a shul, is for Jews what a church is for Christians, or a mosque for Muslims, or a temple for Hindus. The word comes from the Greek roots sun "together" and agein "bring" — it's a building where worshipers are brought together.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

synagogue synagogues

The Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and Communities Secretary Angela Rayner are among about 800 people attending a memorial event for the victims and survivors of last year's Heaton Park synagogue attack.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

A memorial service will take place at Heaton Park synagogue later to commemorate the victims and survivors.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Those photos showed stones, and on those stones were Hebrew inscriptions—emerging from oblivion, the unimaginable remains of a synagogue whose existence no one had suspected.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

When I was growing up in Queens in the 1970s, about 2,000 Jews would worship on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur at my synagogue, the Hollis Hills Jewish Center.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

A mom who remembers things like cookies for synagogue.

From "A Place at the Table" by Saadia Faruqi and Laura Shovan

Today it reaches Muslim Americans and other minorities with the same ferocity it reaches synagogues.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Abrishami is one of about 60 active synagogues in Iran, for which Gerami serves as chief rabbi.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 3, 2026

Other synagogues, churches and mosques are on the path to rebuilding, but they are facing the same hurdles as many of their congregants and members, and then some.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

Julie Menin, speaker of the New York City Council, wrote on social media that "multiple synagogues and private homes in Queens were vandalized overnight with swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti."

From Barron's ● May 4, 2026

I began to accept invitations to share my story at churches, synagogues, schools, and political, military, civic, and philanthropic organizations, locally and across the United States and Canada.

From "The Boy on the Wooden Box" by Leon Leyson

Related Words

• chapel
• house of worship
• mosque
• parish
• shrine
• temple