church

Noun

church (countable and uncountable, plural churches)

1. (countable) A Christian house of worship; a building where Christian religious services take place.
   • There is a lovely little church in the valley.
   • This building used to be a church before being converted into a library.

   Synonyms:

   chapel, kirk

2. Christians collectively seen as a single spiritual community; Christianity; Christendom.
   • These worshippers make up the Church of Christ.
   • Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.Acts 20:28, New International Version
3. (countable) A local group of people who follow the same Christian religious beliefs, local or general.
   • Many young people find their only role models of family life in church.2007, Bill Gibson, The Ultimate Church Sound Operator's Handbook, page 78
   • He got the message and was in church the next Sunday. We need to stay in church with the fellowship of others in order to keep the fire of faith burning brightly.2007, John R. Dodd, Bucky and Friends, page 117
4. (countable) A particular denomination of Christianity.
   • The Church of England separated from the Roman Catholic Church in 1534.
5. Christian worship held at a church; service.
   • Pastors complained that they were not allowed enough authority in church, with women exercising too much informal control.1997, Paul Harvey, Redeeming the South: Religious Cultures and Racial Identities ..., page 119
   • Some people are always saying, "Oh, you have too much church." You never get too much church. I go to church every day.2000, Lee Roberson, Disturbing Questions...: Solid Answers, page 174
6. (uncountable) Organized religion in general or a specific religion considered as a political institution.
   • Many constitutions enshrine the separation of church and state.
   • But in Muslim countries, Church and State are one indissolubly, and until the very essence of Islam passes away, that unity cannot be relaxed. The law of the land, too, is, in theory, the law of the Church.1903, Duncan Black MacDonald, Development of Muslim Theology, Jurisprudence and Constitutional Theory, page 4
7. (informal) Any religious group or place of worship; a temple.
   • She goes to a Wiccan church down the road.
   • Among these, the church must investigate fundemental questions, […]2007, Scott A. Merriman, Religion and the Law in America, page 313
8. (obsolete) Assembly.

Verb

church (third-person singular simple present churches, present participle churching, simple past and past participle churched)

1. (historical, transitive) To conduct a religious service for (a woman after childbirth, or a newly married couple).
   • 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 of1485, Sir Thomas Malory, “Tercium”, in Le Morte Darthur, book XI
   • Nor did it [the Church] accept that the woman should stay indoors until she had been churched.1971, Keith Thomas, Religion and the Decline of Magic, Folio Society, published 2012, page 36
2. (transitive) To educate someone religiously, as in a church.
   • “we’re mighty glad to have you all here. Don’t pay no ‘tention to Lula, she’s contentious because Reverend Sykes threatened to church her. She’s a troublemaker from way back, got fancy ideas an’ haughty ways—we’re mighty glad to have you all.”1960 July 11, Harper Lee, To Kill a Mockingbird, Philadelphia, Pa.; New York, N.Y.: J[oshua] B[allinger] Lippincott Company, →OCLC

Interjection

1. (slang) Used to express strong agreement.
   • – These burritos are the best! – Church!

   Synonyms:

   preach

Proper noun capitalized: Church

Church

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...1989 February 10, Stephen Fry et al., “Christening”, in A Bit of Fry and Laurie, season 1, episode 5
   • John was a convert to the Church who left his home in England and traveled to the Salt Lake Valley as part of a handcart company.2008 November, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “Lift Where You Stand”, in Liahona, pages 53–56
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:

   Church Village, Churchtown