What does "church" mean?
A Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place.
Church
/t͡ʃɜːt͡ʃ/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place.
- Grammar: church is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: church building, congregation, adherents, affiliation.
- Useful contrasts: discotheques, meetinghouse, nonreligious venue.
- Usage evidence: Even people who don't believe in the Catholic church venerate the Pope as a symbolic leader.
How to use "church"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "church" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "church" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "church" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "church" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
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- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "church" is acting as intj, name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "church building" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "church", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place. countable
"There is a lovely little church in the valley."
- 2 a service conducted in a house of worship wordnet
- 3 Christians collectively seen as a single spiritual community; Christianity; Christendom. countable, uncountable
"These worshippers make up the Church of Christ."
- 4 a place for public (especially Christian) worship wordnet
- 5 A local group of people who follow the same Christian religious beliefs, local or general. countable
"Many young people find their only role models of family life in church."
Show 7 more definitions
- 6 one of the groups of Christians who have their own beliefs and forms of worship wordnet
- 7 A particular denomination of Christianity. countable
"The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534."
- 8 the body of people who attend or belong to a particular local church wordnet
- 9 Christian worship held at a church; service. countable, uncountable
"Pastors complained that they were not allowed enough authority in church, with women exercising too much informal control."
- 10 Organized religion in general or a specific religion considered as a political institution. uncountable
"Many constitutions enshrine the separation of church and state."
- 11 Any religious group or place of worship; a temple. countable, informal, uncountable
"She goes to a Wiccan church down the road."
- 12 Assembly. countable, obsolete, uncountable
Verb
- 1 To conduct a religious service for (a woman after childbirth, or a newly married couple). historical, transitive
"Thenne after this lady was delyuerd and chirched / there came a knyghte vnto her / his name was sire Bromel la pleche / the whiche was a grete lord and he hadde loued that lady longe / and he euermore desyred her to wedde her / and soo by no meane she coude putte hym of"
- 2 perform a special church rite or service for wordnet
- 3 To educate someone religiously, as in a church. transitive
Intj
- 1 Used to express strong agreement. slang
"– These burritos are the best! – Church!"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname.
- 2 A specific church (Christian religious denomination), such as the Church of England or the Catholic Church.
"Priest: Look, matey, this is a church, not a dealing room. I am not interested in your creepy theories about enterprise and initiative. This place is founded on ideas a bit more permanent than the Dow Jones Index... The Church will be here long after your little brat has grown up, ripped a few people off and died unloved in his Spanish retirement villa. Mother: Portuguese, actually, and there's no need to be so beastly. Priest: Well, I'm sorry, but people like you really piss me off."
- 3 Christianity conceptualized as a single church, irrespective of its various denominations; Christendom.
"the Son in Heaven and the Church on Earth"
- 4 A village in Hyndburn borough, near Accrington, Lancashire, England (OS grid ref SD7429).
- 5 An unincorporated community in Allamakee County, Iowa, United States.
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
"Even people who don't believe in the Catholic church venerate the Pope as a symbolic leader."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "church"?
Common synonyms include: church building, congregation, adherents, affiliation, apostleship, assembly.
How do you use "church" in a sentence?
Even people who don't believe in the Catholic church venerate the Pope as a symbolic leader.
How do you pronounce "church"?
Pronounced /t͡ʃɜːt͡ʃ/.
Etymology
From Middle English chirche, from Old English ċiriċe (“church”), from Proto-West Germanic *kirikā, an early borrowing of Ancient Greek κυριακόν (kuriakón), neuter form of κυριακός (kuriakós, “belonging to the lord”), from κύριος (kúrios, “ruler, lord”), from Proto-Indo-European *ḱewh₁- (“to swell, spread out, be strong, prevail”). Doublet of kirk. additional etymological information For vowel evolution, see bury. Ancient Greek κυριακόν (kuriakón) was used of houses of Christian worship since circa 300 CE, especially in the East, though it was less common in this sense than ἐκκλησία (ekklēsía, “congregation”) or βασιλική (basilikḗ, “royal thing”). An example of the direct Greek-to-Germanic progress of many Christian words, possibly via the Goths; it was probably used by West Germanic people in their pre-Christian period. Cognate with Scots kirk (“church”), West Frisian tsjerke (“church”), Saterland Frisian Säärke (“church”), Dutch kerk (“church”), German Kirche (“church”), Danish kirke (“church”), Swedish kyrka (“church”), Norwegian Bokmål kirke, Norwegian Nynorsk kyrkje (“church”), and Icelandic kirkja (“church”). Also picked up by Slavic, via Old High German chirihha (compare Old Church Slavonic црькꙑ (crĭky), Bulgarian църква (cǎrkva), Russian це́рковь (cérkovʹ)). Romance and Celtic languages use descendants of Latin ecclēsia.