clergy

noun

cler·​gy ˈklər-jē 

plural clergies

1

: a group ordained to perform pastoral or sacerdotal functions in a Christian church

Members of the clergy have been invited to participate in an interfaith service.

2

: the official or sacerdotal class of a non-Christian religion

Buddhist clergy

Synonyms of clergy

• church
• episcopate

Examples of clergy in a Sentence

Local clergy have been invited to participate in an interfaith service.

a member of the clergy

Recent Examples on the Web

Independent investigations into clergy abuse around the world have identified the seal of confession as a major impediment to exposing and preventing abuse, and called for it to be abolished. —Suman Naishadham, Los Angeles Times, 8 June 2026

Shaped by the anticlerical violence of the country’s 1936-1939 civil war, the church has dealt more recently with a credibility crisis over revelations of decades of clergy abuse and cover-up. —ABC News, 6 June 2026

Others are subsidiaries of conglomerates, known as bonyads, that answer to the clergy. —Bozorgmehr Sharafedin, The Atlantic, 1 June 2026

Before Universal could make a decision about Penland, a news story emerged about Scorsese screening the film for Catholic clergy. —Isaac Butler, New Yorker, 30 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English clergie, from Anglo-French, from clerc clergyman

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing clergy

• benefit of clergy

Kids Definition

clergy

noun

cler·​gy ˈklər-jē 

plural clergies

: the group of religious officials (as priests, ministers, or rabbis) specially prepared and authorized to conduct religious services