bishop

noun

bish·​op ˈbi-shəp 

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 Mormon high priest 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

Related article Conclave: A visual guide to the secretive process of choosing a new pope Throughout his papacy, however, Francis faced fierce resistance from small, but noisy, conservative Catholic groups and a certain amount of indifference and silent resistance from bishops in the hierarchy. —Christopher Lamb, CNN Money, 2 May 2025

Catholics believe that each pope, the bishop of Rome, is a successor to the throne held by Saint Peter, with authority over the church, according to Britannica. —Marc Ramirez, USA Today, 1 May 2025

Two years ago, the Catholic bishops of Tulsa and Oklahoma City formed a private, nonprofit corporation to establish the nation’s first religious charter school. —David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 30 Apr. 2025

Also attending the mass were other senior clergy, including patriarchs, archbishops and bishops. —Willem Marx, NPR, 26 Apr. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English bisshop, from Old English bisceop, from Late Latin episcopus, from Greek episkopos, literally, overseer, from epi- + skeptesthai to look — more at spy

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing bishop

• auxiliary bishop

Rhymes for bishop

• archbishop

Kids 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 1 of 2

biographical name (1)

Bish·​op ˈbi-shəp 

Elizabeth 1911–1979 American poet

Bishop

2 of 2

biographical name (2)

J(ohn) Michael 1936–     American microbiologist