bible

noun

bi·​ble ˈbī-bəl 

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

Synonyms

• Book
• Good Book
• Holy Writ
• Scripture

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 on the Web

But the ongoing declines have instead forced Trump to merchandise everything from digital trading cards and bibles to sneakers and now silver coins to drum up cash. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 25 Sep. 2024

The trailer, a full bible and two scripts will later be presented at Mipcom by Bonnie Lener, producer and head of development at Millimages. —Kambole Campbell, Variety, 4 Sep. 2024

Alcohol abuse and alcohol dependence used to be separate diagnoses under the DSM-IV, the previous edition of the psychiatrists’ diagnostic ‘bible’. —New Atlas, 9 Aug. 2024

Gustavo Arellano has a fresh and fascinating take on Vance’s bootstrap bible. —Jim Ruland, Los Angeles Times, 27 July 2024

Word History

Etymology

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

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Kids Definition

Bible

noun

Bi·​ble

ˈbī-bəl

1

a

: a book made up of the writings accepted by Christians as coming from God

b

: a book containing the sacred writings of some other religion

2

not capitalized : a publication widely read and considered very important

the bible of show business

Etymology

Middle English Bible "the Bible," from early French Bible (same meaning), from Latin biblia (same meaning), from Greek biblia (plural) "books," derived from Byblos, ancient city in Phoenicia from which the Greeks imported papyrus