worship
noun
reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
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worship
American
[wur-ship]
/ ˈwɜr ʃɪp /
noun
-
reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
-
formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage.
They attended worship this morning.
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adoring reverence or regard.
excessive worship of business success.
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the object of adoring reverence or regard.
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(initial capital letter) a title of honor used in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station (usually preceded by Your, His, orHer ).
verb (used with object)
-
worships,
present (3rd person singular)
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worshipped,
past, past participle, past (especially British)
-
worshiped,
past participle
-
worshiping,
present participle
-
worshipping
present participle (especially British)
verb (used without object)
-
worships,
present (3rd person singular)
-
worshipped,
past, past participle, past (especially British)
-
worshiped,
past participle
-
worshiping,
present participle
-
worshipping
present participle (especially British)
-
to render religious reverence and homage, as to a deity.
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to attend services of divine worship.
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to feel an adoring reverence or regard.
worship
1
British
/ ˈwɜːʃɪp /
verb
-
(tr) to show profound religious devotion and respect to; adore or venerate (God or any person or thing considered divine)
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(tr) to be devoted to and full of admiration for
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(intr) to have or express feelings of profound adoration
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(intr) to attend services for worship
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obsolete (tr) to honour
noun
-
religious adoration or devotion
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the formal expression of religious adoration; rites, prayers, etc
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admiring love or devotion
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archaic dignity or standing
Worship
2
British
/ ˈwɜːʃɪp /
noun
Usage
What does worship mean? Worship is the honor and reverence given to a god or sacred object, as in The holy men would not allow anyone to interrupt their worship of the gods. Worship can also refer to the formal act or ceremony in which a person gives such reverence, as in The family attended worship yesterday. Worship can be used more generally to refer to passionate adoration or devotion of anything, as in I am sometimes disturbed by the creepy worship of celebrities. As a verb, worship can be used in both the religious sense, as in worshipping nature, or the secular sense, as in worshiping the musician at every concert. In American English, worshiped and worshipping are spelled with only one P, while in British English they are spelled with two P’s (worshipped, worshipping). Self-worship is used to refer to someone who reveres or adores themselves, as in The dozens of flattering self-portraits were just one example of the king’s self-worship. Example: My sister worships her cats and is always buying fancy gifts for them.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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preworshipnoun
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self-worshipnoun
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self-worshipernoun
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self-worshippernoun
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worshipernoun
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worshippernoun
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misworshipverb
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self-worshipingadjective
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self-worshippingadjective
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unworshipedadjective
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unworshipingadjective
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unworshippedadjective
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unworshippingadjective
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worshipableadjective
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worshipinglyadverb
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
worshipsimple
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worshipssimple
-
have worshipedperfect
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have worshippedperfect
-
has worshipedperfect
-
has worshippedperfect
-
am worshipingprogressive
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am worshippingprogressive
-
are worshipingprogressive
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are worshippingprogressive
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is worshipingprogressive
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is worshippingprogressive
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have been worshipingperfect progressive
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have been worshippingperfect progressive
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has been worshipingperfect progressive
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has been worshippingperfect progressive
Past
-
worshippedsimple
-
had worshipedperfect
-
had worshippedperfect
-
was worshipingprogressive
-
was worshippingprogressive
-
were worshipingprogressive
-
were worshippingprogressive
-
had been worshipingperfect progressive
-
had been worshippingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of worship
First recorded before 900; Middle English noun wors(c)hipe, worthssipe, Old English worthscipe, variant of weorthscipe; Middle English verb derivative of the noun; see origin at worth 1, -ship
Explanation
To worship is to show a lot of love and adoration for something. Religious believers worship gods, and people can worship other people and things too. Worship is an extreme form of love — it's a type of unquestioning devotion. If you worship God, then you love God so much that you don't question him at all. Going to church is a form of worship — so is prayer. People also use the word worship in other cases. If you love a musician or sports star, you might say, "I worship her!" Or someone might say to you, "Man, you need to wake up and stop worshiping him."
Vocabulary lists containing worship
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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:
Let those who worship evil’s might beware my power… Green Lantern’s light!
From Salon ● Sep. 7, 2026
It’s a Taoist temple where people come to worship Guan Di, a deified Chinese general revered as the god of commerce and war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
“To the families who lost loved ones, to the families who are at worship, and to the entire San Diego community,” he said, “you remain in our prayers.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
Its small size suggests it was originally used for private worship.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
They help us to peel back some of the layers of legend and hero worship that obscure the whole story of American history.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
Congress should pass the Right to Worship Act, so that every American can worship freely.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026
People pray during the Praise and Worship service.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2023
Mhairi Marwick was due to teach at the Fèis Thiriodh and play with Celtic Worship at the festival.
From BBC ● Jul. 6, 2023
The church-affiliated Elevation Worship has won six Dove Awards — the top award for contemporary Christian music — including song of the year for “The Blessing.”
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 30, 2023
“Will it please Your Worship to hear the noble Hizdahr zo Loraq?”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Where the MT1 puts small on a pedestal, the Slate Truck worships simple.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
What does it mean to lack ambition in a country that worships wealth?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 8, 2026
“This is a church that worships Jesus. Loves one another. Seeks the good of their neighbors.”
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026
Filipino woman worships green statue for 4 years, finds out it is animated character Shrek.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
I was like a boy who worships a local soccer hero and is not interested in a national soccer star with whom he has no connection.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
His collections were worshipped for their emphasis on individuality.
From Salon ● Sep. 5, 2026
The image called to mind the golden calf of Abrahamic religious texts, worshipped by the Israelites to Moses’—and God’s—dismay.
From Slate ● Jun. 11, 2026
A showreel of footballing memories - teams you loved, heroes you worshipped, the iconic shirts they wore.
From BBC ● Jun. 1, 2026
"If someone chants the name of Mother Bonbibi, she will save his life from tigers, snakes, and crocodiles," said villager Ashutosh Mandal, 63, referring to a deity whose idol is worshipped at temples.
From Barron's ● Apr. 28, 2026
He has returned from the court of a Parsi king who worshipped the Hindu gods.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Li Yongqing, 23, said he believed in Caishen, the god of wealth worshiped in Chinese folk beliefs and Taoism.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
In crafting the final season, which finds Homelander demanding to be worshiped as God, the writers drew inspiration from the actions of current and former fascist leaders.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
In it, a government scientist discovers that a scaly creature worshiped by island villagers as a sea god has grown to a monstrosity that dwarfs tall buildings.
From Salon ● Mar. 20, 2026
A leather-goods salesman from Brooklyn, N.Y., he worshiped the sun and loved nothing better than a “fresh burn.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 5, 2026
She’d thought He was the actual god of Islam, the one whom Muslims worshiped.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
Architecture is the most optimistic of art forms, because to create spaces for living and working, for worshiping and governing, is by its nature a positive act.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 27, 2026
Society is depicted as "worshiping only power and money, despising art, sensitivity, tenderness, where people ...don't talk anymore."
From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026
But Rigney himself is focused on much more than worshiping Jesus and loving one another.
From Slate ● Jan. 30, 2026
“He is now rejoicing and worshiping the Lord as he loved to do,” Lopez wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024
Would they be mocked or even punished for worshiping?
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
If that were an innovative idea, we’d have been worshipping at the heels of last year’s equally topical yet no less trite sci-fi horror “Companion.”
From Salon ● Jul. 22, 2026
Kingsley Femi Fanwo, Kogi State's information commissioner, blamed Sunday's church raid on bandits, and urged isolated places of worship to "reconsider worshipping in crime prone areas for now until the situation gets better".
From Barron's ● Nov. 30, 2025
Currently, they face the choice of attending state-sanctioned churches approved by Beijing or worshipping in underground congregations that have sworn allegiance to the Vatican.
From BBC ● Jun. 12, 2025
He is worshipping her through this act of cooking for her.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024
It is no exaggeration to say that after and because of Beethoven music approached the status of a religion, complete with gods and goddesses for worshipping, a state of affairs that persists to this day.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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.
