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Definition of church

church

/tʃɜːrtʃ/
church

Plural:churches
•
Adjective:churchy
•
Past Simple:churched
•
Past Participle:churched
•
Present Participle:churching
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church Lexical Profile

church Game Scores & Validity

• noun

1

A building used for public Christian worship.

Example

"The villagers gathered at the local church for the Sunday morning service."


2

A particular Christian denomination, organization, or the collective worldwide body of Christian believers.

Example

"The Catholic Church has historically held significant influence over European politics and culture."


3

The clerical profession or the clergy as a body.

Example

"He decided to enter the church after completing his theology degree at the university."

Synonyms
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• verb

1

To bring or integrate (someone) into an organized church or ecclesiastical community.

Example

"The missionaries sought to church the growing population of the newly established colony."


2

To perform a formal religious service of thanksgiving for (a woman) after she has given birth.

Example

"Historically, mothers were traditionally churched a few weeks after delivering their child."

Synonyms
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Antonyms
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• Rhymes for church

Word Origin & Etymology

From Old English 'cyrice' or 'cirice', ultimately derived from Late Greek 'kyriakon', meaning 'the Lord's (house)', from 'kyrios' meaning 'ruler' or 'lord'.

Usage Trend

Historical frequency of usage in published text.

180019102020

Cite this Entry


Wordmom. (2026). Definition of Church. In Wordmom Dictionary. Retrieved Nov 6, 2026, from https://wordmom.com/dictionary/church
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