bible

noun bi·ble \ ˈbī-bəl \

Updated on: 18 May 2018

Definition of bible

1 capitalized religion

a : the sacred scriptures of Christians comprising the Old Testament and the New Testament

b : the sacred scriptures of some other religion (such as Judaism)

2 obsolete : book

3 capitalized, religion : a copy or an edition of the Bible

gave each of her grandchildren a Bible

4 : a publication that is preeminent especially in authoritativeness or wide readership

the fisherman's bible

the bible of the entertainment industry

Bible Table

See bible defined for English-language learners

Examples of bible in a Sentence

She gave each of her grandchildren a Bible.
The book is famous among foodies—it's the gourmet's bible.
The magazine is now considered the bible of the plastics industry.

Recent Examples of bible from the Web

In the painting, a kind-eyed, smiling Henrietta looks directly at the viewer, pearls around her neck and a bible held snugly in her overlapped hands.

— ryan p. smith, Smithsonian, "Famed for “Immortal” Cells, Henrietta Lacks is Immortalized in Portraiture," 15 May 2018
Despite its heavy binding and gold-lined pages, her book is not a bible.

— aliza abarbanel, Bon Appetit, "Ayurvedic Chef Nira Kehar on Wellness Fatigue and Mindfully Made Poutine," 7 May 2018
For Norton, both the class and mass came from a desire to explore female-centric interpretations of the bible, specifically how biblical texts affect African American female identity.

— tony bravo, San Francisco Chronicle, "Grace Cathedral’s Beyoncé Mass draws faithful crowd of 900-plus," 25 Apr. 2018
This 267-page cookbook should be the van chef’s bible.

— ac shilton, Outside Online, "How to Cook Gourmet Meals in Your Van," 20 Apr. 2018
These team-by-team bibles are the core of what the Sixers get for their annual $3 million investment in analytics (about what former Sixers guard Michael Carter-Williams earned this season).

— marcus hayes, Philly.com, "Analytics-driven Sixers ride the numbers to NBA playoffs," 18 Apr. 2018
Cosmo in 2012, the sort of bible of American women.

— recode staff, Recode, "Full transcript: Hearst Magazines Chief Content Officer Joanna Coles on Recode Decode," 25 Apr. 2018
The Guinness Book of World Records confirmed this as the world's smallest bible, at just five by five millimeters.

— kelly potts, Woman's Day, "Soon, You'll Be Able to Wear the World's Tiniest Bible," 9 Dec. 2014
Robert Marble Marble was questioned about his religious beliefs and the satanic bible, according to records of Leavenworth deputies’ investigation shared by Marble with The Star.

— max londberg, kansascity, "Beyond ‘Satanic Panic’: Agent has theory on 30-year mystery of missing Kansas teen | The Kansas City Star," 8 Apr. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'bible.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of bible

Middle English, from Old French, from Medieval Latin biblia, from Greek, plural of biblion book, diminutive of byblos papyrus, book, from Byblos, ancient Phoenician city from which papyrus was exported

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

Other Bible Terms

antediluvian, apocalyptic, apocrypha, behemoth

BIBLE Defined for English Language Learners

bible

noun

Definition of bible for English Language Learners

the Bible : the book of sacred writings used in the Christian religion
: the book of sacred writings used in the Jewish religion
Bible : a copy or edition of the Bible

BIBLE Defined for Kids

Bible

noun Bi·ble \ ˈbī-bəl \

Definition of Bible for Students

1 : the book of sacred writings accepted by Christians as coming from God

2 : a book containing the sacred writings of a religion

Learn More about bible

See words that rhyme with bible Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for bible Spanish Central: Translation of bible Nglish: Translation of bible for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of bible for Arabic speakers Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about bible

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