churches

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of church.

   The medieval churches in the valley draw thousands of visitors each year.

   Several churches downtown opened their doors to shelter people during the storm.

   Note

   A plural that counts more than buildings. Churches can be several houses of worship, several congregations, or several denominations, so a city's churches may mean its spires or its rival communions. The collective sense, Christendom as one body, and church as a political institution resist the plural; those meanings stay singular. The spelling follows the usual -ch rule and adds -es.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present indicative of church.

   After the birth of her son, the parish churches the mother in a service of thanksgiving.

   Each spring the old chapel churches several women who have recently given birth.

   Note

   A verb form that always takes an object: a parish churches a mother, a minister churches a newly married couple. The rite it names is historical, a service held after childbirth or a wedding, so the form now appears mostly in writing about the past. A second, untagged use means giving someone a religious upbringing. It is spelled exactly like the plural noun, and its object is what tells them apart.

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