[church] 
| 1. | a building for public Christian worship. |
| 2. | public worship of God or a religious service in such a building: to attend church regularly. |
| 3. | (sometimes initial capital letter ) the whole body of Christian believers; Christendom. |
| 4. | (sometimes initial capital letter) any division of this body professing the same creed and acknowledging the same ecclesiastical authority; a Christian denomination: the Methodist Church. |
| 5. | that part of the whole Christian body, or of a particular denomination, belonging to the same city, country, nation, etc. |
| 6. | a body of Christians worshipping in a particular building or constituting one congregation: She is a member of this church. |
| 7. | ecclesiastical organization, power, and affairs, as distinguished from the state: separation of church and state; The missionary went wherever the church sent him. |
| 8. | the clergy and religious officials of a Christian denomination. |
| 9. | the Christian faith: a return of intellectuals to the church. |
| 10. | (initial capital letter) the Christian Church before the Reformation. |
| 11. | (initial capital letter) the Roman Catholic Church. |
| 12. | the clerical profession or calling: After much study and contemplation, he was prepared to enter the church. |
| 13. | a place of public worship of a non-Christian religion. |
| 14. | any non-Christian religious society, organization, or congregation: the Jewish church. |
| 15. | to conduct or bring to church, esp. for special services. |
| 16. | South Midland and Southern U.S. to subject to church discipline. |
| 17. | to perform a church service of thanksgiving for (a woman after childbirth). |
| church (chûrch) n.
To conduct a church service for, especially to perform a religious service for (a woman after childbirth). adj. Of or relating to the church; ecclesiastical. [Middle English chirche, from Old English cirice, ultimately from Medieval Greek kūrikon, from Late Greek kūriakon (dōma), the Lord's (house), neuter of Greek kūriakos, of the lord, from kūrios, lord; see keuə- in Indo-European roots.] |
A group of Christians; church is a biblical word for “assembly.” It can mean any of the following: (1) All Christians, living and dead. (See saints.) (2) All Christians living in the world. (3) One of the large divisions or denominations of Christianity, such as the Eastern Orthodox Church, Methodist Church, or Roman Catholic Church. (4) An individual congregation of Christians meeting in one building; also the building itself.