churchnoun
uk/tʃɜːtʃ/us/tʃɝːtʃ/church noun (BUILDING)
A2 [ C ] a building for Christian religious activities:
The town has four churches.
a church spire/tower
a church hall (= a building belonging to a church, with a large room for meetings)
More examples
- They built the church on the edge of the village.
- In many churches the side aisles are separated from the central aisle by a row of arches.
- The bride and groom posed for pictures outside the church.
- Do you know the way to St Peter's Church?
- I found her kneeling in prayer at the back of the church.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Religious buildings & places
- abbey
- ashram
- caliphate
- cathedral
- chapel
- gurdwara
- hermitage
- house of God
- kirk
- kiva
- mosque
- nunnery
- pagoda
- parsonage
- place of worship
- synagogue
- tabernacle
- United Church of Canada
- vicarage
- wat
See more results »
church noun (ORGANIZATION)
[ C or U ] an official Christian religious organization:
All the local churches were represented at the memorial service.
He went on a walking trip with some of his friends from church.
[ U ] an occasion when this organization meets as a group of people:
I'll see her after church.
They go to church every Sunday.
church services
the Church [ S ]
Christian religious organizations:
Some people think the Church shouldn't interfere in politics.
More examples
- In Britain, the Queen is the head of the established church.
- The church has strongly condemned the violence.
- Instead of defending traditional values, the church frequently seems weak-kneed and irresolute.
- The church accused him of impiety and had all his writings burned.
- We joined the Methodist/Anglican/Roman Catholic Church in 1975.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Religions & religious groups
- African Methodist Episcopal Church
- AME
- Buddhism
- Calvinist
- catholic
- faith-based
- Free Church
- Hinduism
- interfaith
- Islam
- Protestant
- Satanism
- sect
- shamanism
- Shiism
- Shinto
- the Episcopal Church
- the God squad
- Zionism
- Zoroastrianism
See more results »
You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Religious people: followers of religious groups
Idiom(s)
go into/enter the church