church

church — noun

1. a structure used by Christians for prayer, singing hymns, and holding ceremonies

1.nounA2
Definition

a structure used by Christians for prayer, singing hymns, and holding ceremonies such as weddings, funerals, and baptisms.

Example

The old stone church on the hill has a bell tower that rings each Sunday.

article + adjective + church + location phrase

The church bells woke Yara at six every morning before school started.

church bells — common sound association

Common collocations
  • stone church
  • village church
  • wooden church
  • local church
  • church tower
  • church bells
  • church door
  • inside the church
Synonyms

Grammar Patterns

the + church

a/an + adjective + church

Usage Note

To describe the building itself, use a or the before church: a wooden church, the local church. When church refers to the service inside the building, no article is used (see sense 3).

Common Mistakes

I go to the church every Sunday.' (when meaning attending a service).
I go to church every Sunday.
When referring to attending a worship service, do not use 'the' before church.
The church building have a tall tower.
The church building has a tall tower.
Church is singular countable, so use 'has' not 'have'.

2. one of the organized Christian communities that follow a shared set of beliefs a

2.nounB1
Definition

one of the organized Christian communities that follow a shared set of beliefs and practices — for example, the Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, or a local body of believers who meet in the same building.

Example

The Catholic Church runs over a hundred thousand schools worldwide, from rural Kenya to downtown Tokyo.

capitalized Church for a specific denomination + concrete scope

Pastor Rohan left one church to start a new one in the neighbouring town.

church meaning a specific congregation

Common collocations
  • Catholic Church
  • Anglican Church
  • Baptist Church
  • local church
  • join a church
  • leave a church
  • church membership
  • church leaders
Synonyms
  • denomination

    more formal term focusing on the belief system

  • congregation

    specifically the local group of people who attend one church building

Grammar Patterns

the + capitalized Church (specific group)

a/an + Church

Churches (plural)

Usage Note

When referring to a specific denomination, Church is often capitalized (the Catholic Church, the Methodist Church). When referring to a local congregation as an organization, lowercase church is common and countable (three churches in the district).

Common Mistakes

I belong to church.
I belong to a church.
When talking about membership in a congregation, use 'a' before church.

3. a gathering of Christians in a church building for singing, prayer, and a talk f

3.nounB1
Definition

a gathering of Christians in a church building for singing, prayer, and a talk from a religious leader, usually on a Sunday.

Example

The Watanabe family goes to church every Sunday morning.

go to church — fixed phrase without article

We saw Pastor Tomás at church last night during the evening service.

Common collocations
  • go to church
  • at church
  • after church
  • before church
  • during church
  • church service
  • Sunday church
Synonyms
  • service

    general term for any religious meeting

  • worship

    focuses on the act of praising God, more formal

Grammar Patterns

at church

go to church

after church

during church

before church

Usage Note

In this sense church is uncountable and takes no article: go to church, at church, after church. This distinguishes it from sense 1 (the building: go to the church) and sense 2 (the organization: belong to a church).

Common Mistakes

We go to the church every Sunday.
We go to church every Sunday.
No article when referring to attending a service.

4. the whole Christian religion considered as a single organized body with its lead

4.nounB2
Definition

the whole Christian religion considered as a single organized body with its leaders, rules, and traditions, including all its members around the world.

Example

By the 1800s, the church had built thousands of charity schools across Europe for children who could not afford tuition.

the church as an institution with historical scope + specific program

Medieval kings often consulted bishops before declaring war, so the church held enormous political influence.

the church + specific historical power dynamic

Common collocations
  • the church and state
  • the church teaches
  • the early church
  • the medieval church
  • the authority of the church
  • church history
Synonyms
  • Christendom

    historical term for the worldwide community of Christians; now less common

  • the clergy

    more specific — the religious leaders only, not the whole body

Grammar Patterns

the Church / the church + singular verb

the church + of + time period

Usage Note

Often capitalized as the Church when referring to the universal Christian body. When uncapitalized, context matters — the church in a historical discussion usually means the institutional Christian religion. Distinguish from sense 2 (a specific denomination) by looking at whether the sentence describes a single named group (Catholic → sense 2) or the whole Christian tradition (sense 4).

Common Mistakes

Church has a long history.' (when starting a new topic).
The church has a long history.
When introducing the institution in a sentence, use 'the'.
Idioms

a broad church

idiom

An organization or group that includes many different opinions or people.

The university's student union is a broad church with diverse political views.

Is the environmental movement still a broad church today?

church — adjective

church — verb

Word family

  • churchgoer
    nounB1
  • churchyard
    nounB2
  • churchman
    nounC1
  • churchly
    adjectiveC1
  • unchurched
    adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

A church is a building where Christians worship God, attend services, and hold ceremonies such as weddings and funerals. A cathedral is a large, important church that serves as the main church in a region and is the official seat of a bishop — for example, St. Paul's Cathedral in London. A chapel is a smaller building or a separate room used for Christian worship, often inside a larger institution such as a school, hospital, prison, or airport; it does not have a full-time priest in the way a church does. A temple is a building used for worship in non-Christian religions, particularly Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, or Judaism (though Jewish places of worship are more commonly called synagogues). A mosque is a building where Muslims gather for prayer and worship. So the key distinctions are: church = Christian (general), cathedral = large/important Christian, chapel = small Christian, temple = non-Christian worship building, mosque = Islamic worship building. If you say 'I visited a temple in Kyoto,' you are referring to a Buddhist or Shinto place of worship, not a Christian church.

cathedral ↗chapel ↗temple ↗mosque ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • church service
  • church building
  • church music
  • church history
  • church members
  • church leaders

Phrases

  • go to church
  • attend church
  • belong to a church
  • join a church
  • leave the church
  • church and state

Prepositions

  • at church
  • in church
  • to church
  • from church

Etymology

GreekWest GermanicOld EnglishEnglish

The word church comes from Old English cirice (or cyrice), which came from a West Germanic word kirika. That Germanic word was borrowed from the Greek phrase kyriakon doma meaning 'the Lord's house,' from kyrios meaning 'lord' or 'master.' This origin is shared with German Kirche and Scottish kirk, while the Romance languages (French église, Italian chiesa, Spanish iglesia) come from a different Greek source, ekklesia, meaning 'assembly.'