worship

[ wur-ship ]

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) British. a title of honor used in addressing or mentioning certain magistrates and others of high rank or station (usually preceded by Your, His, or Her ).

verb (used with object)

, wor·shiped, wor·ship·ing or wor·shipped, wor·ship·ping.

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)

, wor·shiped, wor·ship·ing or wor·shipped, wor·ship·ping.

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

/ ˈwɜːʃɪp /

noun

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

worship

²

/ 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

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

Derived Forms

• ˈworshipper, noun
• ˈworshipable, adjective

Other Words From

• wor·ship·er wor·ship·per noun
• wor·ship·ing·ly adverb
• mis·wor·ship verb misworshiped misworshiping or misworshipped misworshipping
• pre·wor·ship noun verb preworshiped preworshiping or preworshipped preworshipping
• self-wor·ship noun
• self-wor·ship·er self-wor·ship·per noun
• self-wor·ship·ing self-wor·ship·ping adjective
• un·wor·shiped un·wor·shipped adjective
• un·wor·ship·ing un·wor·ship·ping adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of worship¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of worship¹

Old English weorthscipe, from worth ¹+ -ship

Example Sentences

Newsom settled the issue after county supervisors asked the state to discount SDSU’s high infection rate from the county total to avoid reverting back to restrictions on businesses and worship centers.

From Voice of San Diego

Indoor shopping centers could still operate at 25 percent capacity, but restaurants, houses of worship, museums and gyms would have to move all operations outdoors.

From Voice of San Diego

It was one of the strictest in the world, with the government confining people to their homes, suspending transport networks, and closing almost all businesses, offices, and places of worship.

From Fortune

Outside of movie theaters and places of worship, one of the first spaces to open as states started rolling back stay-at-home orders back in mid-May were … gyms.

From Ozy

From giving at your place of worship to volunteering at your local food bank to making sure that when you get takeout it’s not from a big chain, neighborhood acts make a difference.

From Ozy

Some people worship money, some people worship power, and lots of people worship themselves.

From The Daily Beast

Are we actually taking into account what some people worship?

From The Daily Beast

His constant worship of his wife stands in stark contrast to scandals of the domestic nature in other sports.

From The Daily Beast

A long-running argument exists over whether Christians and Muslims worship the same God.

From The Daily Beast

The worship of some of these deities appears to have included orgiastic rituals: music, wine, sex.

From The Daily Beast

Her exquisite, frail beauty held a strength that mocked the worship in his eyes and voice.

From Project Gutenberg

To swear by his name is not to do sacrifice; and is therefore to perform another part of his worship.

From Project Gutenberg

In addition to the great chief temple, there were many smaller places of worship, with bell and tablet houses.

From Project Gutenberg

Perhaps he is a little conscious of his charm; if so, it is hardly his fault, for hero-worship has been his lot from boyhood.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a part of religious worship, and claims that solemnity of mind that is due to every religious service.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• adoration
• church service
• devotion
• prayer
• rite
• ritual

More About Worship

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. 

Where does worship come from?

The first records of worship come from before the year 900. It comes from the Old English weorthscipe, formed from the word worth, meaning “good” or “important,” and the suffix -ship, indicating a condition or character. If you worship someone or something, you think they or it is important enough to be revered or idolized.

The word worship is used to discuss religion and will often appear in religious texts. Practicing a religion often includes honoring a god, multiple gods, or nature. Religious worship can involve things like prayer or meditation during which you express your devotion to a supreme being or force. Churches, synagogues, and mosques are described as “places of worship” because they are the location where you would typically go to honor your God.

Did you know … ?

What are some other forms related to worship?

• worshiper (noun)
• worshipper (noun)
• worshipingly (adverb)
• misworship (verb)
• preworship (noun)
• self-worship (noun)

What are some synonyms for worship?

• prayer
• adoration
• devotion
• honor
• glorify
• revere

What are some words that share a root or word element with worship? 

• worshipful
• worth

What are some words that often get used in discussing worship?

• religion
• prayer
• sacred
• God
• place

How is worship used in real life?

Worship is commonly used to refer to religion or a person’s relationship with a supreme being. Outside of religion, worship is used to mean that a person intensely adores or reveres someone or something.

The #GospelOfTheDay (Mt 2:1-12) teaches us that, when we do not worship God, we end up worshiping ourselves. This is a grave risk: we use God instead of serving Him.

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) January 6, 2020

We in India have a strong tradition of living in harmony with nature. We worship nature: PM @narendramodi

— PMO India (@PMOIndia) March 4, 2016

HAHAHA I WORSHIP THE GROUND TAYLOR SWIFT WALKS ON HAHAHAH

— Olivia Rodrigo (@Olivia_Rodrigo) March 22, 2020

Try using worship!

Is worship used correctly in the following sentence?

Ancient Romans worshiped many gods and gave sacrifices to them at their temples to show their reverence.