worship
noun
reverent honor and homage paid to God or a sacred personage, or to any object regarded as sacred.
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.
-
adoring reverence or regard.
excessive worship of business success.
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the object of adoring reverence or regard.
-
(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)
-
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.
-
to attend services of divine worship.
-
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)
-
(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
-
obsolete (tr) to honour
noun
-
religious adoration or devotion
-
the formal expression of religious adoration; rites, prayers, etc
-
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
-
worshipssimple
-
have worshipedperfect
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have worshippedperfect
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has worshipedperfect
-
has worshippedperfect
-
am worshipingprogressive
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am worshippingprogressive
-
are worshipingprogressive
-
are worshippingprogressive
-
is worshipingprogressive
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is worshippingprogressive
-
have been worshipingperfect progressive
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have been worshippingperfect progressive
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has been worshipingperfect progressive
-
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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Frindle
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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:
Eventually, she spoke in tongues at worship services.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Today we mark one week since our sacred space, our place of worship, was violated with words of hate,” Ratner said in a speech Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
In a passage a more compassionate editor might have removed, Vance reveals the higher power he seems to actually worship.
From Salon ● Jul. 29, 2026
Eight of out 10 of Sumba's population of 685,000 people are Christian, but its older "marapu" belief system, that blends animism and ancestor worship, has deep roots.
From Barron's ● Jul. 21, 2026
On the day of Zeus’s festival he drove it furiously through the town, scattering at the same time firebrands and shouting to the people to worship him because he was Zeus the Thunderer.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Worship took different forms for those in the crowds.
From BBC ● Apr. 17, 2026
Mr. Keesee is founder of Frontline Missions International and co-author of “From the Rising of the Sun: A Journey of Worship Around the World.”
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 27, 2025
Worship services are also held on Ash Wednesday in Anglican, Lutheran, Episcopal and some Protestant churches.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2024
In her most difficult moments, Dorsainvil said she turned to “See a Victory” by the North Carolina-based Elevation Worship music collective.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 13, 2023
“Your Worship shines so brightly, you will blind every man who dares to look upon you,” said Reznak.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
Within a legal profession that venerates judges and worships the Supreme Court, this is borderline heresy.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
Hundreds of people showed up for a midweek vigil at St. Philip’s in the Hills Episcopal Church, where some of the family worships, a few days after Guthrie disappeared.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026
Filipino woman worships green statue for 4 years, finds out it is animated character Shrek.
From MarketWatch ● Jan. 12, 2026
Stalter says she is not someone who worships celebrities — “I don’t even know actors’ names sometimes” — but stresses that she is a “mega, mega, mega Lena/’Girls’ fan” and is still processing their collaboration.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 10, 2025
"My grandfather's name is Khan. I'm trying to find him and was wondering if maybe you knew him, sir, because he worships at the same mosque, I think?"
From "Born Behind Bars" by Padma Venkatraman
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
They worshipped in a two-bedroom apartment while the group raised money to build a more permanent mosque—a spiritual home that would deepen their roots in their hometown.
From Slate ● Apr. 19, 2026
Despite the abundance of material, it remains difficult to determine exactly which deities were worshipped.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 5, 2026
But Zalmai worshipped his father, and, because he did, he was transformed when his father was around to dote on him.
From "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini
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
Legend has it that the lion-headed figure protected the country from invasions and was worshiped as a god of war in the ancient Nubian kingdoms of Kush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
The same way that McIlroy worshiped Woods before playing alongside him, a new generation of players reached the highest level of the game by wanting to be McIlroy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 9, 2026
“I absolutely worshiped The Beatles,” he told Rolling Stone in 2002.
From Salon ● Jul. 26, 2025
Though his siblings worshiped in a variety of ways, Zeitoun was perhaps the most devout, missing none of his daily prayers.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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
Not by banning it or worshiping it, but by designing it to strengthen the irreplaceable human skills that business demands.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
“He is now rejoicing and worshiping the Lord as he loved to do,” Lopez wrote.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 14, 2024
And a growing number of middle-class African Americans are worshiping in more diverse congregations.
From Slate ● Aug. 30, 2024
Would they be mocked or even punished for worshiping?
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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 believes in the power of film and the strength we get from the communal aspect of worshipping at the movie house.
From Salon ● May 24, 2025
He is worshipping her through this act of cooking for her.
From Salon ● Feb. 9, 2024
I’m a little conflicted, since I’m against the idea of everybody worshipping the so-called cool crowd.
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.
