church

See also Church

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA ^(key): /t͡ʃɜːt͡ʃ/

• Audio (UK)

  (file)

• (US) IPA ^(key): /t͡ʃɝt͡ʃ/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

Noun

Singular church

Plural churches

A picture of a church.

1. (uncountable) The Church is Christian's gathering to praise and be with God.
2. (countable) A church is a building where Christians gather and pray to God.

   The church across the street has a service at 10 am.

   Christian churches and Buddhist temples exist alongside each other.

   Though she prayed and attended church, as she got older she often wondered why God didn't do anything.

3. (countable) A church is a particular kind of religious belief or power.

   They asked for the help of the Catholic Church.

   At the time I moved from the Baptist Church to the Pentecostal Church I was about sixteen years old.

   Jesus Christ established a church in which men and women were equal.

   This country was founded on the idea of separation of church and state.

   People tend to leave because they don't accept certain church teachings.

4. (countable) A Christian religious organization, local or general.

   The Church (referring to the dominant religious organization of a particular time or place).

5. (uncountable) Church is a time when Christians go to a church.

   I'll be there after church.

Synonyms

• cathedral
• chapel
• mosque
• synagogue
• temple