diocese

noun

di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs 

-ˌsēs, 

-ˌsēz

plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-sə-səz 

-ˌsē-zəz

nonstandard ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz

: the territorial jurisdiction of a bishop

diocesan

dī-ˈä-sə-sən 

also ˈdī-ə-ˌsē-sᵊn

adjective

Examples of diocese in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Organization and governance As with most other Anglican churches, the ACK is governed through a hierarchical system of provinces, dioceses, and parishes. — Stephanie Triplettall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 Aug. 2026

In his letter, Uthmeier did not single out one of the state's seven dioceses, but did refer to the immunization policies of the Diocese of Pensacola-Tallahassee. — Cbs Miami Team, CBS News, 31 July 2026

The Armenian Church established an Artsakh diocese and held its first service in the thirteenth-century Gandzasar monastery, a complex built from Armenia’s famous pink-red stone and perched on a verdant hilltop. — Literary Hub, 30 July 2026

The Maryland native chose Baltimore to be the seat of the first diocese. — USA Today, 28 July 2026

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

Rhymes for diocese

• agrees
• appease
• bougies
• burmese
• chemise
• chickpeas
• chinese
• cowpeas
• curies
• decrees
• degrees
• disease

Kids Definition

diocese

noun

di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs 

-ˌsēz, 

-ˌsēs

plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz 

-ˌsē-zēz, 

-sə-səz

: the district over which a bishop has authority