Word.ws English Dictionary

God Save the King

God Save the King proper noun: the national anthem of the United Kingdom when the current monarch is a king.

Proper noun

God Save the King

  1. The national anthem of the United Kingdom when the current monarch is a king.
    • It is a strange fact, but it is unquestionably true that almost any English intellectual would feel more ashamed of standing to attention during “God save the King” than of stealing from a poor box.1941, George Orwell, The Lion and the Unicorn

Interjection

  1. (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, UK) An expression of one’s patriotism and hope for the long life of the monarch, especially in his presence.
  2. (UK) A formal statement at the end of many proclamations issued by the King or in his name.
  3. (UK) A formal declaration following the death of a reigning monarch when the next monarch is male.
    • The Queen is dead! God save the King!

Origin of God Save the King

Based on an Old English translation of 2 Kings 11:12 likely made by Dunstan for King Edgar's coronation in 973.

Words formed from God Save the King

Questions about God Save the King

What does God Save the King mean?
God Save the King means the national anthem of the United Kingdom when the current monarch is a king.
What part of speech is God Save the King?
God Save the King can be a proper noun or an interjection.

Words near God Save the King in the dictionary

  1. God rest her soul
  2. God rest his soul
  3. God rest their soul
  4. God rest their souls
  5. god roll
  6. God Save the King
  7. God save the mark
  8. God Save the Queen
  9. God Shave the Queen
  10. God slot
  11. God slots

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: God Save the King (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “God Save the King.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/god_save_the_king. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.