god

1 of 2

noun

ˈgäd 

 also  ˈgȯd

plural gods

1

God : the supreme or ultimate reality: such as

a

: the being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped (as in Judaism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism) as creator and ruler of the universe

Throughout the patristic and medieval periods, Christian theologians taught that God created the universe …

—Jame Schaefer

… the Supreme Being or God, the personal form of the Ultimate Reality, is conceived by Hindus as having various aspects.

—Sunita Pant Bansal

b

Christian Science : the incorporeal divine Principle ruling over all as eternal Spirit : infinite Mind

2

or less commonly God : a being or object that is worshipped as having more than natural attributes and powers

specifically : one controlling a particular aspect or part of reality

Greek gods of love and war

3

: a person or thing of supreme value

had photos of baseball's gods pinned to his bedroom wall

4

: a powerful ruler

Hollywood gods that control our movies' fates

god

2 of 2

verb

godded; godding

transitive verb

: to treat as a god : idolize, deify

Synonyms

Noun

• deity
• divinity

Examples of god in a Sentence

Noun

Does she believe in God?

I pray to God that no one was seriously injured in the accident.

the gods and goddesses of ancient Egypt

a myth about the god of war

an offering for the gods

a professor who was regarded as a kind of god

a guitar god like Jimi Hendrix

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

Yancey carefully guided the needle loaded with black ink into the arm of one of his customers, tracing the outline of a Greek god onto the man’s bicep. —Debra Utacia Krol, USA TODAY, 30 Nov. 2024

Pete Sampras and Andre Agassi’s storied histories were dwarfed by the new gods of the game. —Tim Ellis, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2024

There’s also a villainous god, because of course there is, and the return of Moana’s Maui (Dwayne Johnson). Moana 2, like other Disney sequels, tells a full story but also seems to clearly set up a sequel. —Lissete Lanuza Sáenz, StyleCaster, 27 Nov. 2024

Zeus is the Greek god of the sky and the father of demigod Thalia Grace (recently announced cast member Tamara Smart). —Selome Hailu, Variety, 25 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German got god

First Known Use

Noun

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1595, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing god

• god-awful
• sun god

Kids Definition

god

noun

ˈgäd,

 also  ˈgȯd

1

capitalized : the supreme or almighty reality

especially : the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness whom people worship as creator and ruler of the universe

2

: a being believed to have more than human powers

ancient peoples worshipped many gods

3

: a physical object (as an image or idol) worshipped as divine

4

: something held to be the most important thing in existence

make a god of money

godhood

-ˌhu̇d

noun

godlike

-ˌlīk

adjective