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
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
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Merriam-Webster unabridged
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Time Traveler for ministry
The first known use of ministry was in the 14th century
See more words from the same century