diocese

noun

di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs How to pronounce diocese (audio)
-ˌsēs, 
-ˌsēz
plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-sə-səz How to pronounce diocese (audio)
-ˌsē-zəz
nonstandard ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz
: the territorial jurisdiction of a bishop
diocesan
dī-ˈä-sə-sən How to pronounce diocese (audio)
also ˈdī-ə-ˌsē-sᵊn
adjective

Examples of diocese in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Overall, diocesan officials said 1,059 people are expected to enter the Catholic Church in the Chicago diocese this year, up from 696 in 2025, a 52% increase. —The Editorial Board, Chicago Tribune, 5 Apr. 2026 Catholic dioceses nationwide are seeing about a 38% rise in people preparing to enter the Church this Easter compared with last year, according to data compiled by Religion News Service. —Loureen Ayyoub, CBS News, 4 Apr. 2026 By the 1970s, however, the Nigerian dioceses had grown rapidly and accounted for the majority of Anglicans in the region, prompting calls for a separate national province. —Encyclopedia Britannica, 31 Mar. 2026 The diocese mentioned that a local pediatrician in Ave Maria was offering MMR vaccination through extended hours at her office and local house visits. —Deidre McPhillips, CNN Money, 23 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for diocese

Word History

Etymology

Middle English diocise, dyoces, borrowed from Anglo-French diocise, dyocés, borrowed from Late Latin diocēsis, dioecēsis "administrative district, province, group of provinces (in the later Roman Empire), jurisdiction of a bishop" (Latin, "administrative district"), borrowed from Late Greek dioíkēsis "administration, control, ordering, civil or ecclesiastical group of provinces, jurisdiction of a bishop," going back to Greek, "management, administration," from dioikē-, variant stem of dioikéō, dioikeîn "to control, manage, look after" (from di- di- + oikeîn "to live, have one's home, order, govern," derivative of oîkos "house, home") + -sis -sis — more at vicinity

Note: In early Modern English diocise, passed on from Middle English, competed unsuccessfully with the Latin/French-influenced forms diocess and diocese. The variant diocess was predominant in the eighteenth century and is the only form entered in Samuel Johnson's dictionary (1755). The situation had changed, at least in the U.S., by the early nineteenth century: Noah Webster, in his American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), enters only diocese, and regards diocess as "a very erroneous orthography."

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of diocese was in the 14th century

Rhymes for diocese

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Browse Nearby Words

diocesan curate
diocese
diocesian
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Diocese.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/diocese. Accessed 6 Apr. 2026.

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Kids Definition

diocese

noun
di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs How to pronounce diocese (audio)
-ˌsēz, 
-ˌsēs
plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz How to pronounce diocese (audio)
-ˌsē-zēz, 
-sə-səz
: the district over which a bishop has authority

More from Merriam-Webster on diocese

Nglish: Translation of diocese for Spanish Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about diocese

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