denomination

noun

de·​nom·​i·​na·​tion di-ˌnä-mə-ˈnā-shən How to pronounce denomination (audio)
1
: an act of denominating
the denomination of prices in U.S. dollars
2
: a value or size of a series of values or sizes
metric denominations
especially : the value of a particular coin or bill
bills in $20 and $50 denominations
3
: name, designation
especially : a general name for a category
listed under the general denomination of gifts
4
: a religious organization whose congregations are united in their adherence to its beliefs and practices
people from several different Christian denominations
denominational adjective
denominationally adverb

Examples of denomination in a Sentence

People from several different religious denominations participated in the event. Methodists, Baptists, and other Christian denominations. It's one of the more conservative denominations. The kidnappers asked for bills in small denominations. The gift certificates are available in $5 and $10 denominations. She spoke with people of many different political denominations.
Recent Examples on the Web While a lot has changed over the centuries as some schools distanced themselves from the denominations that launched them, there are still plenty of options for students who want faith to be a part of their college experience. Brennan Barnard, Forbes, 27 Feb. 2024 The Lancaster Mennonite Conference, a group of more than 170 churches primarily in Pennsylvania, left the Mennonite Church USA denomination amid differing views on homosexuality in 2018. Kayla Jimenez, The Courier-Journal, 23 Feb. 2024 Builders hoped to show all faiths are welcome at the site where Hindu worshipers will be able to pray before deities representative of Hinduism's different denominations. Jon Gambrell, Quartz, 12 Feb. 2024 Statistically, plenty of those Republican primary voters were bound to be Southern Baptists, members of the denomination that Lubinus represents. Benjamin Wallace-Wells, The New Yorker, 7 Jan. 2024 This process turns the smallest denomination of fungible bitcoin into non-fungible assets most commonly known as Ordinals. Liam Wright, Forbes, 22 Feb. 2024 Fasting rules on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday vary among Christian denominations. Maeghan Dolph, Fox News, 14 Feb. 2024 After the Ukrainian church’s switch, only four of 15 eastern Orthodox denominations — in Russia, Serbia, Finland and Jerusalem — still follow the Julian calendar, which lags by 13 days owing to a difference in calculating the length of the year. Andrew E. Kramer, New York Times, 25 Dec. 2023 By far the largest U.S. Jewish denomination, Reform Judaism has long represented the liberal heart and leanings of American Judaism. Michelle Boorstein, Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'denomination.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

see denominate

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of denomination was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near denomination

Cite this Entry

“Denomination.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/denomination. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

denomination

noun
de·​nom·​i·​na·​tion di-ˌnäm-ə-ˈnā-shən How to pronounce denomination (audio)
1
: an act of denominating
2
: one of a series of related values each having a special name
a $5 bill represents one denomination of U.S. money
3
: name entry 1 sense 1, designation
especially : a general name for a class of things
4
: a religious body made up of a number of congregations with similar beliefs
denominational
-shnəl How to pronounce denomination (audio)
-shən-ᵊl
adjective

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