Word.ws English Dictionary

temple

/ˈtɛm.pl̩//tɪm.pl̩/

temple noun: a house of worship dedicated to a polytheistic faith.

temple: a house of worship, especially:
Image: Pearson Scott Foresman, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Noun (1)

temple (plural temples)

  1. A house of worship dedicated to a polytheistic faith.
    • The temple of Zeus was very large.
    • As of October 1968 Lukang, which had a resident population of between 27,000 and 28,000 people, had 39 temples. It is my impression that Lukang has more temples than do most Taiwanese communities of equivalent size. By temple I mean a structure that houses an image, altar, and incense pot, and is...1974, Donald R. DeGlopper, “Religion and Ritual in Lukang”, in Arthur P. Wolf, editor, Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society (Studies in Chinese Society), Stanford: Stanford University Press, →ISBN...
  2. (Judaism) Synonym of synagogue, especially a non-Orthodox synagogue.
    • How often do you go to temple?
    Synonyms:
    synagogue
  3. (Mormonism) As opposed to an LDS meetinghouse, a church closed to non-Mormons and necessary for particular rituals.
  4. A meeting house of the Oddfellows fraternity; its members.
  5. (figuratively) Any place regarded as holding a religious presence.
  6. (figuratively) Any place seen as an important centre for some activity.
    • a temple of commerce; a temple of drinking and dining
  7. (figuratively) Anything regarded as important or minutely cared for.
    • My body is my temple.
    • For nature crescent does not grow alone
      In thews and bulks, but as this temple waxes,
      The inward service of the mind and soul
      Grows wide withal.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
  8. (figuratively) A gesture wherein the forefingers are outstretched and touch pad to pad while the other fingers are clasped together.
    • Again Abdullah listened intently, his eyes closed, his ten fingers forming a temple of his hands in front of him.2010, James LePore, A World I Never Made, page 251

Verb

temple (third-person singular simple present temples, present participle templing, simple past and past participle templed)

  1. (transitive) To build a temple for; to appropriate a temple to; to temple a god
    • though the Heathen (in many places) Templed and adored this drunken God1623, Owen Feltham, Resolves: Divine, Moral, Political

Noun (2)

temple (plural temples)

  1. The slightly flatter region, on either side of the head of a vertebrate, including a human, behind the eye and forehead, above the zygomatic arch, and forward of the ear.
    • Then Iael Hebers wife, tooke a naile of the tent, and tooke an hammer in her hand, and went softly vnto him, and smote the naile into his temples, and fastened it into the ground: (for he was fast asleepe, and weary;) so he died.1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Judges 4:21
    • Biblical criteria of sexual seductiveness include a white skin, black hair, or henna-dyed, scarlet lips, a prominent nose, rosy temples, long straight neck, firm breasts, round thighs, an erect posture.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 219
  2. Either of the sidepieces on a set of spectacles, extending backwards from the hinge toward the ears and, usually, turning down around them.

Noun (3)

temple (plural temples)

  1. A contrivance used in a loom for keeping the web stretched transversely.
    Synonyms:
    template

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Temple

Temple

  1. A male given name from Latin.
    • The two known human AIDS viruses are evolving at a rapid rate equivalent to that of influenza viruses, said Dr. Temple F. Smith of Harvard's Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, an author of a new report on the AIDS virus family tree.1988 June 9, Harold M. Schmeck Jr., “Family Tree of AIDS Viruses Is Viewed as 37 to 80 Years Old”, in The New York Times
    • Temple Dickson, D-Sweetwater, in a broad attack against cigarette companies, said the bill was needed so that taxpayers will not be paying for diseases caused by cigarettes.1992 July 11, “Sweetwater senator wants tobacco industry to pay”, in The Victoria Advocate
  2. A female given name from Latin.
    • Temple Hayes, 35, a minister with the Church of Religious Science of West Palm Beach, told the survivors that support and a positive attitude are important in fighting any type of disease.
      "In today's times, it is essential that people come together and support each other with like-minded...1994, Tracy Bertman, "Cancer survivors celebrate life, dreams, The News, 6 June 1994
    • Dr. Temple Grandin, a university professor who has autism, has plenty of expertise and personal experience with autism, which gives her a unique perspective on the information available.2006, Stephen M. Shore, Linda G. Rastelli, Understanding Autism for Dummies, Wiley Publishing, Inc., published 2006, →ISBN, page 346
  3. A surname.
    • Wildlife biologist Stanley Temple hypothesised that perhaps the dodo tree was dependent on its seeds passing through the digestive system of dodos in order to properly germinate and that the handful of individuals in the 1970s were the last remaining trees from seeds that passed through a dodo in...2017 May 3, Mark Carnall, “Finding zombies, ghosts and Elvis in the fossil record”, in The Guardian
  4. A suburb of Glasgow, Scotland (OS grid ref NS5469).
  5. A village in Midlothian council area, Scotland (OS grid ref NT3158).
  6. A small village in Bisham parish, Windsor and Maidenhead borough, Berkshire, England (OS grid ref SU8484).
  7. A small village in Blisland parish, on Bodmin Moor, Cornwall, England (OS grid ref SX1473).
  8. A city in Carroll County and Haralson County, Georgia.
  9. An unincorporated community in Crawford County, Indiana.
  10. A town in Franklin County, Maine.
  11. An unincorporated community in Clare County, Michigan.
  12. A town in Hillsborough County, New Hampshire.
Show 5 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. A ghost town in Williams County, North Dakota.
  2. A town in Cotton County, Oklahoma.
  3. A census-designated place in Berks County, Pennsylvania.
  4. A city in Bell County, Texas, named after Bernard Moore Temple of the Santa Fe Railway.
  5. A neighbourhood of Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Temple

the Temple

  1. (Judaism, historical) Any of the former chief temples to YHWH in Jerusalem, particularly Solomon's Temple.
  2. (UK) Either of two of the Inns of Court in London (the Inner Temple and the Middle Temple), built on a site once occupied by the Knights Templar.
    • Up to his five-and-twentieth year he had been industrious and steady, had kept his terms in the Temple, and studied late and early.1860, Ellen Wood, East Lynne, Penguin, published 2005, page 5

temple meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

temple in Hindi

place of worship — see also place of worship
मंदिर mandir, मठ maṭh

temple in Tamil

place of worship — see also place of worship
கோயில் kōyil, தேவளம் tēvaḷam, தேவாலயம் tēvālayam
region of skull
நெற்றி neṟṟi

temple in Marathi

place of worship — see also place of worship
देऊळ deūḷ, मंदिर mandir

temple in Urdu

place of worship — see also place of worship
مَعْبَد ma'bad, مَٹھ maṭh, عِبادَت گاہ 'ibādat gāh, مَنْدِر mandir
More languagesFewer languages
temple in Bengali
মন্দির mondir, মঠ moṭh
temple in Telugu
కోవెల kōvela, ఆలయము ālayamu, గుడి guḍi, దేవళము dēvaḷamu
temple in Malayalam
അമ്പലം ampalaṁ, ദേവാലയം dēvālayaṁ, ചെന്നി cenni
temple in Kannada
ದೇವಸ್ಥಾನ dēvasthāna
temple in Punjabi
ਪੁੜਪੁੜੀ puṛpuṛī
temple in Gujarati
મંદિર mandir, લમણું lamṇũ
temple in Odia
ମନ୍ଦିର mandira
temple in Sanskrit
देवालय devālaya, मठ maṭha
temple in Sinhala
වෙහෙර wehera
temple in Assamese
দৌল doul, মন্দিৰ mondir
temple in Nepali
कन्चट kancaṭ
temple in Pashto
معبد ma'bad, بتخانه botxāna
temple in Tagalog
templo, pilipisan, sentido
temple in Arabic
مَعْبَد maʕbad, هَيْكَل haykal, صَدْغ ṣadḡ, ذِرَاع ḏirāʕ
temple in Malay
kuil, pelipis
temple in Indonesian
kuil, pura, wihara, kelenteng
temple in Persian
گیجگاه gijgâh
temple in Thai
วัด wát, ขมับ kà-màp
temple in Vietnamese
đền, thiền viện, chùa, thái dương
temple in Myanmar
ဘုရား bhu.ra:, ဝတ်ကျောင်း watkyaung:, နားထင် na:htang, နယ် nai
Dzongkha
ལྷ་ཁང lha khang

Examples of temple in a sentence

  • As of October 1968 Lukang, which had a resident population of between 27,000 and 28,000 people, had 39 temples.1974, Donald R. DeGlopper, “Religion and Ritual in Lukang”, in Arthur P. Wolf, editor, Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society (Studies in...
  • A thick braid of wires hangs from his left temple.2013 December 9, Amy Standen, “Epilepsy Patients Help Decode The Brain's Hidden Signals”, in NPR:

All 40 example sentences with temple

Synonyms of temple

All synonyms of temple

Forms of temple

Noun
pluraltemples
Verb
third-person singular presenttemples
present participletempling
past participletempled
pasttempled

Plural of temple: temples

Origin of temple

From Middle English temple, from Old English templ, tempel, borrowed from Latin templum (“shrine, temple, area for auspices”). Compare Old High German tempal (“temple”), also a borrowing from the Latin. Displaced native Old English ealh.

From Middle English temple, from Old French temple, from Vulgar Latin *temp(u)la, from Latin tempora (“the temples”), plural of tempus (“temple, head, face”). See temporal bone.

Borrowed from Latin templum (“a small timber, a purlin”); compare templet and template.

Words formed from temple

Phrases with temple

7 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with temple

Questions about temple

What does temple mean?
Temple means a house of worship dedicated to a polytheistic faith.
What is temple in Hindi?
Temple in Hindi is मंदिर (mandir), मठ (maṭh). See Temple meaning in Hindi.
How do you use temple in a sentence?
As of October 1968 Lukang, which had a resident population of between 27,000 and 28,000 people, had 39 temples.
What part of speech is temple?
Temple can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce temple?
Temple is pronounced /ˈtɛm.pl̩/.
What is the plural of temple?
The plural of temple is temples.

Words near temple in the dictionary

  1. templatizations
  2. templatize
  3. templatized
  4. templatizes
  5. templatizing
  6. temple
  7. temple block
  8. temple blocks
  9. Temple City
  10. temple dancer
  11. temple dancers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: temple (page history and authors); Temple (page history and authors); ਪੁੜਪੁੜੀ (Punjabi) (page history and authors); වෙහෙර (Sinhala) (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.

Last updated:

Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: En-uk-temple.ogg, En-us-temple.ogg.

Cite this entry: “temple.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/temple. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.