What does "lord" mean?
The master of the servants of a household; (historical) the master of a feudal manor
Lord
/lɔːd/ intj, name, noun, verb, slang
intj, name, noun, verb, slang ·Very common ·Middle school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: The master of the servants of a household; (historical) the master of a feudal manor
- Grammar: lord is listed as intj, name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: master, noble, administer, affect.
- Useful contrasts: atheist, calm, churls.
- Usage evidence: And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.
How to use "lord"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "lord" 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 "lord" 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 "lord" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "lord" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- 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 "lord" 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 "master" 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 "lord", 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 The master of the servants of a household; (historical) the master of a feudal manor obsolete
"Bleſſed is that ſeruant, whome his Lord when he commeth, ſhal finde ſo doing."
- 2 A formal title of the lesser British nobility, used for a lord of the manor or Lord Proprietor.
- 3 a titled peer of the realm wordnet
- 4 The master of the servants of a household; (historical) the master of a feudal manor; The male head of a household, a father or husband. archaic, obsolete
"[…]thou worthie Lord, Of that vnworthie wife that greeteth thee"
- 5 A generic title used in reference to any peer of the British nobility or any peer below the dignity of duke and (as a courtesy title) for the younger sons of dukes and marquesses (see usage note).
"How do you do, Lord Darlington?"
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 a person who has general authority over others wordnet
- 7 The master of the servants of a household; (historical) the master of a feudal manor; The owner of a house, piece of land, or other possession archaic, obsolete
"A mightie Lord of Swine!"
- 8 Similar formal and generic titles in other countries.
- 9 One possessing similar mastery over others; (historical) any feudal superior generally; any nobleman or aristocrat; any chief, prince, or sovereign ruler; in Scotland, a male member of the lowest rank of nobility (the equivalent rank in England is baron)
"It is a pytuouse case... whan subjectes rebell agaynst their naturall lorde."
- 10 An additional title added to denote the dignity of certain high officials, such as the "Lord Mayors" of major cities in the British Commonwealth
- 11 One possessing similar mastery over others; (historical) any feudal superior generally; any nobleman or aristocrat; any chief, prince, or sovereign ruler; in Scotland, a male member of the lowest rank of nobility (the equivalent rank in England is baron); A feudal tenant holding his manor directly of the king historical
- 12 The elected president of a festival.
- 13 One possessing similar mastery over others; (historical) any feudal superior generally; any nobleman or aristocrat; any chief, prince, or sovereign ruler; in Scotland, a male member of the lowest rank of nobility (the equivalent rank in England is baron); A peer of the realm, particularly a temporal one
"Men myghten lordis knowe"
- 14 A high priest.
- 15 One possessing similar mastery over others; (historical) any feudal superior generally; any nobleman or aristocrat; any chief, prince, or sovereign ruler; in Scotland, a male member of the lowest rank of nobility (the equivalent rank in England is baron); A baron or lesser nobleman, as opposed to greater ones obsolete, uncommon
"1526, W. Bonde, Pylgrimage of Perfection, i. sig. Bviiiv Farre excellyng the state of lordes, erles, dukes or kynges."
- 16 One possessing similar mastery in figurative senses (esp. as lord of ~)
"O wityng bath god and ill Ȝee suld be lauerds at ȝour will."
- 17 One possessing similar mastery in figurative senses (esp. as lord of ~); A magnate of a trade or profession.
"The Tobacco Lords were a group of Scottish merchants and slave traders who in the 18th century made enormous fortunes by trading in tobacco."
- 18 The heavenly body considered to possess a dominant influence over an event, time, etc.
"The assendent, & eke the lord of the assendent, may be shapen for to be fortunat or infortunat, as thus, a fortunat assendent clepen they whan þat no wykkid planete, as Saturne or Mars, or elles the tail of the dragoun, is in þe hows of the assendent."
- 19 A hunchback. British, obsolete, slang
"Lord, a very crooked, deformed... Person."
- 20 Sixpence. Australia, British, obsolete
"Twenty years ago you might hear a sixpence described as a ‘Lord’ meaning ‘Lord of the Manor’; that is, a tanner."
Verb
- 1 To domineer or act like a lord. ambitransitive
"The grisly toadstool grown there might I see, / And loathed paddocks lording on the same."
- 2 make a lord of someone wordnet
- 3 To invest with the dignity, power, and privileges of a lord; to grant the title of lord. transitive
"He being thus lorded / Not only with what my revenue yielded, / But what my power might else exact, […] / he did believe / He was indeed the Duke"
Intj
- 1 An interjection variously expressing astonishment, surprise, resignation.
"O Lord I must laugh."
Proper Noun
- 1 The Abrahamic deity of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths. countable, uncountable
"The breath of worldly men cannot depose, The deputy elected by the Lord."
- 2 Typographical variant of Lord, particularly in English translations of the Bible.
"O Lord our Lord [translating יְהוָ֤ה אֲדֹנֵ֗ינוּ (y'hvh 'adonéinu)], how meruelous is thy name in the whole earth! Becauſe thy magnificence is eleuated, aboue the heauens."
- 3 The Abrahamic deity of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.; The God of Abraham and the Jewish scriptures. Judaism, countable, uncountable
- 4 The Abrahamic deity of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic faiths.; God the Father; the Godhead. countable, uncountable
"Some trust in charets, and some in horses: but wee will remember the Name of the Lord our God."
- 5 Jesus Christ, God the Son. countable, uncountable
"Therfore I doe you to vnderſtand that no má ſpeaking in the Spirit of God, ſaith anáthema to IESVS. And no man can ſay, Our Lord IESVS: but in the holy Ghoſt."
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 Any other deity particularly important to a religion or a worshipper. countable, uncountable
"...and our Lord [the Horned God] as Master, Father, and Sage."
- 7 An English surname transferred from the nickname, originally a nickname for someone who either acted as if he were a lord or had worked in a lord's household. countable, uncountable
Example
"And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "lord"?
Common synonyms include: master, noble, administer, affect, ahura, alas.
How do you use "lord" in a sentence?
And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men.
How do you pronounce "lord"?
Pronounced /lɔːd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English lord and lorde (attested from the 15th century), from earlier (14th century) lourde and other variants which dropped the intervocalic consonant of earlier lowerd, louerd, loverd, laford, and lhoaverd; from Old English hlāford < hlāfweard, a compound of hlāf (“bread”) + weard (“guardian”); see loaf and ward. The term was already being applied broadly prior to the literary development of Old English and was influenced by its common use to translate Latin dominus. Compare Scots laird (“lord”), preserving a separate vowel development (from northern/Scottish Middle English lard, laverd), the Old English compound hlāf-ǣta (“servant”, literally “bread-eater”), and modern English lady, from Old English hlǣfdīġe (“bread-kneader”). The Middle English word laford was borrowed by Icelandic, where it survives as lávarður. Doublet of hlaford and laird.
Etymology 2
See lord. In reference to the God of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Bible, originally a translation (attested from the late Old English form hlāford) of the Vulgate Latin Dominus (“master of a house; lord”), translating the New Testament and the Septuagint's Ancient Greek ὁ κύριος or Κύριος (ó kýrios, "the supreme one; Lord, Kyrios"), both in reference to Hebrew אֲדֹנָי (ʾdny, "my lord; my Lord, Adonai") from אדון (ʾdwn, "lord, patron; Lord") + י- (-y, "my"), cognate with Phoenician 𐤀𐤃𐤍 (ʾdn, "lord; Lord, Adon"). Adonai appears in the Tanakh both directly and as a euphemism read aloud during occurrences of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH, "I Am that I Am; Jehovah"). See the usage notes below. Displaced the earlier term Drighten.
Etymology 3
See lord and Lord.