plural bishops
1
: someone having spiritual or ecclesiastical supervision over others: such as
a
: an Anglican, Eastern Orthodox, or Roman Catholic clergyperson ranking above a priest, having authority to ordain and confirm, and typically governing a diocese
b
: any of various Protestant clerical officials who superintend other clergy
c
: a high priest of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints presiding over a ward or over all other bishops and over the Aaronic priesthood
2
: either of two pieces of each color in a set of chessmen having the power to move diagonally across any number of adjoining unoccupied squares
3
: mulled port wine flavored with oranges and cloves
Examples of bishop in a Sentence
the Bishop of New York
Recent Examples on the Web
This United States Conference of Catholic Bishops call for an hour of prayer, which can be offered publicly or privately, went out to every bishop, priest and the laity, according to Rockford Diocese spokesperson Penny Wiegert.
—
Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Denver Catholic shared an announcement on Saturday welcoming their new bishop.
—Christa Swanson, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
There were then three processions at the start of the installation, which included honored guests, congregation leadership and several bishops, WNYW reported.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026
After returning to Chicago, Hicks served as Cardinal Cupich’s vicar-general, or deputy, then as a bishop, and was known for unshowy efficiency.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bishop
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Denise Crosby, Chicago Tribune, 8 Feb. 2026
Denver Catholic shared an announcement on Saturday welcoming their new bishop.
—Christa Swanson, CBS News, 8 Feb. 2026
There were then three processions at the start of the installation, which included honored guests, congregation leadership and several bishops, WNYW reported.
—Rachel Wolf, FOXNews.com, 7 Feb. 2026
After returning to Chicago, Hicks served as Cardinal Cupich’s vicar-general, or deputy, then as a bishop, and was known for unshowy efficiency.
—Paul Elie, New Yorker, 6 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for bishop
Cite this Entry
“Bishop.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bishop. Accessed 14 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bishop
noun
bish·op
ˈbish-əp 
1
: a high-ranking member of various sects of the Christian clergy usually in charge of a diocese
2
: a chess piece that moves diagonally
Etymology
Old English bisceop "bishop," from Latin episcopus (same meaning), from Greek episkopos, literally, "overseer," from epi- "on, over" and skopos "watcher, goal, object" — related to episcopal, horoscope, scope
Word Origin
The Old English word bisceop, from which we get our modern English word bishop, comes to us from the Latin word episcopus. Like many other Latin words connected with religion and the church, this was borrowed from Greek, the language in which the New Testament was written. The Greek word episkopos, meaning literally "overseer," was first used of officials in government and later came to be used for church leaders. In the Bible the word meaning "bishop" and the word meaning "priest" were used for the same thing. It was not until much later that the bishop did indeed become overseer of a large district, or diocese.
Biographical Definition
Bishop
2 of 2biographical name (2)
J(ohn) Michael 1936– American microbiologist
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