worship

American  

[wur-ship] / ˈwɜr ʃɪp /

noun

1. reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.

2. formal or ceremonious rendering of such honor and homage.

   They attended worship this morning.

3. adoring reverence or regard.

   excessive worship of business success.

   Synonyms:

   idolatry, adoration, homage, honor

4. the object of adoring reverence or regard.

5. (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 ).

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verb (used with object)

worshiped, worshiping, worshipped, worshipping

1. to render religious reverence and homage to.

2. to feel an adoring reverence or regard for (any person or thing).

   Synonyms:

   adulate, idolize, glorify, adore, revere, venerate, honor

verb (used without object)

worshiped, worshiping, worshipped, worshipping

1. to render religious reverence and homage, as to a deity.

2. to attend services of divine worship.

3. to feel an adoring reverence or regard.

worship ¹ British  

/ ˈwɜːʃɪp /

verb

1. (tr) to show profound religious devotion and respect to; adore or venerate (God or any person or thing considered divine)

2. (tr) to be devoted to and full of admiration for

3. (intr) to have or express feelings of profound adoration

4. (intr) to attend services for worship

5. obsolete (tr) to honour

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noun

1. religious adoration or devotion

2. the formal expression of religious adoration; rites, prayers, etc

3. admiring love or devotion

4. archaic dignity or standing

Worship ² British  

/ ˈwɜːʃɪp /

noun

1. a title used to address or refer to a mayor, magistrate, or a person of similar high rank

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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

• misworship verb
• preworship noun
• self-worship noun
• self-worshiper noun
• self-worshiping adjective
• self-worshipper noun
• self-worshipping adjective
• unworshiped adjective
• unworshiping adjective
• unworshipped adjective
• unworshipping adjective
• worshipable adjective
• worshiper noun
• worshipingly adverb
• worshipper noun

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; 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."

Example Sentences

Security minister Dan Jarvis said the money would help "keep people safe in the places where they live, work and worship".

From BBC • Apr. 10, 2026

They say they yearn for a day when Iranians of all religions will be allowed to worship freely in their homeland.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 4, 2026

“The proposed settlement agreement to exempt only houses of worship and not secular nonprofits would have been unfair and a violation of church-state separation,” she said.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 31, 2026

Since the outbreak of the war of the Middle East, European countries have been on high alert for potential attacks on Iranian dissidents, Jewish places of worship and US-Israeli assets.

From Barron's • Mar. 28, 2026

In truth, despite spending most of his life in the Temple of Lkossa, he’d never really thought about the fact that Gedes weren’t allowed to worship there.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray

Related Words

• admire
• adore
• canonize
• celebrate
• chant
• idolize
• revere
• sing
• venerate