ministry

noun

min·is·try | \ ˈmi-nə-strē

plural ministries

Definition of ministry

1 : ministration the ingenuity of destruction … had outrun the ministry of healing— Dixon Wecter

2 : the office, duties, or functions of a minister was well prepared for the ministry

3 : the body of ministers of religion : clergy joined the Presbyterian ministry

4 : a person or thing through which something is accomplished : agency, instrumentality heroic believers become such by the ministry of heroic pain— Austin Phelps

5 : the period of service or office of a minister or ministry Many reforms were enacted during his ministry.

6 often capitalized

a : the body of ministers governing a nation or state from which a smaller cabinet (see cabinet entry 1 sense 3b) is sometimes selected

b : the group of ministers constituting a cabinet

7a : a government department presided over by a minister the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

b : the building in which the business of a ministry is transacted

Synonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about ministry

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Examples of ministry in a Sentence

a member of the ministry She learned a lot during her first year of ministry.

Recent Examples on the Web

China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and the housing ministry of Jiangxi province didn’t respond to requests for comment. — Dominique Fong, WSJ, "China’s Property Market, Once a Lifeline, Now Carries Economic Risks," 16 Feb. 2019 Loccisano is now in treatment at St. Christopher's Inn, which is run by a ministry of the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement in Garrison, New York. — CBS News, "Researchers say they're on the verge of creating a revolutionary, non-addictive painkiller," 8 June 2018 Five Star leader Luigi Di Maio will also become a deputy prime minister as well as head up the ministry of labor and economic development. — Lauren Said-moorhouse And Gianluca Mezzofiore, CNN, "Meet the populist players about to take power in Italy," 1 June 2018 This area has few rivers, said Oscar Vasquez, the provincial director at the ministry of agriculture, who was at Rojas' farm for a ceremony marking the system's installation. — Sebastian Rodriguez, The Christian Science Monitor, "Costa Rica's farmers harvest the rain to counter droughts," 11 May 2018 The HM Treasury is the economic and finance ministry for the British government. — Amy Mackelden, Harper's BAZAAR, "Meghan Markle Was Just Spotted at Lunch with Her New Communications Secretary," 21 Jan. 2019 The Japanese sector was mainly Kasumigaseki—that and the imperial palace, closed since the royal family had moved to the relative security of Sapporo—and Kasumigaseki was all ministries and government offices and the Diet. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "Two unlikely cops are paired up to solve murders in a war-torn Tokyo in Ninth Step Station," 8 Dec. 2018 In Paris, protesters—some wearing reflective yellow vests, others not—used a forklift to break down the door of the ministry of the government spokesman, who was rushed out a back exit by security staff. — Noemie Bisserbe, WSJ, "French Government Proposes Tighter Anti-Rioting Laws," 7 Jan. 2019 The French presidency said Macron asked Prime Minister Edouard Philippe to be temporarily in charge of the interior ministry until Collomb’s successor is appointed. — Sylvie Corbet, The Seattle Times, "French interior minister quits in new blow to Macron," 2 Oct. 2018

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

History and Etymology for ministry

Middle English ministerie, minstri "personal service, religious office, position in a church," borrowed from Middle French & Latin; Middle French ministere "service, duty," going back to Old French, borrowed from Latin ministerium "activity of a servant, duty, task, support" (Late Latin, "ecclesiastical service") from minister "servant, minister entry 1" + -ium, denominal suffix of occupations

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