DictionaryAI

minister

MIN-uh-stur/ˈmɪn.əˌstɚ/MIN-is-tuh/ˈmɪn.ɪs.tə/

Pluralministers

Verbministers, ministering, ministered

8 meanings of minister

Practice

  1. 1
    government leadernouncountable
    A member of a government who is responsible for a department or a particular area of its work, either as its head or as a junior minister.

    The defense minister resigned after the committee published its report.

    Cabinet ministers debated the proposal for several hours.

    UsageOften after the area (finance minister), or as a title with of and a capital: Minister of the Interior.

    Similarsecretary

    Note

    Government kept the servant's word, from the old "servant" sense. Francis Bacon, advising the Duke of Buckingham, calls ministers to kings their "eyes, ears, and hands." In parliamentary systems ministers are typically drawn from and answerable to the legislature, and they remain accountable for their department's policy and administration.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The government title derives from a word meaning servant or attendant. en.wikipedia.org
    • Francis Bacon used the quoted description of ministers in advice addressed to Buckingham. en.wiktionary.org
    • Drawing ministers from the legislature is typical of parliamentary government, particularly Westminster systems. idea.int
    • Ministers answer to the legislature for their departments' policies and administration. gov.uk
  2. 2
    church pastornouncountable
    A person trained to preach, perform religious ceremonies, and provide pastoral care at a Protestant church.

    The minister baptized three children during the Sunday service.

    After the funeral, the minister comforted the grieving family.

    UsageFor Catholic clergy, priest is the usual word; some Protestant churches say pastor or vicar instead.

    Similarpastor, preacher, clergyman, cleric, reverend

    Note

    In Protestant churches it names the one who preaches, leads worship and cares for a congregation, an office distinct from the Catholic priesthood in theology and function. The work itself has its own verb, the verb of officiating: a minister ministers, and both are said of the same person in the same pulpit.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Protestant ministry includes preaching, worship and pastoral care. methodist.org.uk
    • Protestant ministry differs from Catholic priesthood in its theological status and sacramental function. vatican.va
  3. 3
    tend to needsverbintransitive
    To attend to someone's needs; to tend, care for, or give aid and service.

    Volunteers minister to the homeless throughout the cold winter months.

    The chaplain ministered to grieving families at the hospital.

    UsageTakes to before the person or need: minister to the sick, minister to someone's needs.

    Similarattend, tend, care, serve

  4. 4
    diplomatnouncountable
    A diplomatic official who ranks immediately below an ambassador, often heading a legation rather than a full embassy.

    The minister presented his credentials to the host government last spring.

    Before becoming an ambassador, she served abroad as a minister for several years.

    Similarenvoy, emissary

  5. 5
    agentnouncountable
    A servant or subordinate; an officer or assistant of lower rank, and so an agent or instrument through which something is done.

    The duke dispatched his most loyal minister to enforce the new order.

    In the old tales, the winds served as ministers of the gods, carrying out their commands.

    Similarservant, agent, instrument, deputy, officer

    Note

    The meaning closest to the Latin attendant. A minister here always belongs to someone: Joshua is Moses's minister in the King James Bible of 1611, and in Shakespeare's The Winter's Tale Camillo is chosen as "the minister" to poison Polixenes. The word passes no judgment on the deed. It marks only whose will the agent carries out, holy or murderous.

    Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts

Less common meanings

  1. 6
    verbintransitive
    To serve as a clergyman or to lead worship as the officiant in a church service.

    The retired pastor still ministers at weddings and funerals.

    Newly ordained, he was eager to minister before his first congregation.

    UsageOften minister at a church or service, or minister to a congregation.

    Similarofficiate, preach, serve

  2. 7
    Catholic helpernouncountable
    A layperson or ordained clergy member commissioned to perform a particular act on behalf of the Catholic Church.

    An extraordinary minister distributed the host when the priest needed help.

    The bishop commissioned lay ministers to bring communion to homebound members.

    Note

    In Catholic usage the word names a function, not a status. Whoever is commissioned for a particular task, such as distributing communion, is its minister, whether lay or ordained. That sets it apart from the Protestant pastor, where minister is the standing title of the person who leads a congregation.

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Catholic ministers can be lay or ordained people commissioned to perform acts on behalf of the Church. en.wikipedia.org
    • Distributing Holy Communion is a function exercised by both ordained ministers and authorized lay ministers. vatican.va
  3. 8
    verbarchaictransitive
    To provide or supply something to someone; to furnish what is needed.
    We minister to God reason to suspect us.
    1651, Jer[emy] Taylor, ΕΝΙΑΥΤΟΣ [Eniautos]. A Course of Sermons for All the Sundays of the Year.
    Note

    In The Tempest one may "minister occasion" to gentlemen, and the King James Bible of 1611 has "he that ministereth seed to the sower." The receiver follows to and can come before the thing given, as in Jeremy Taylor's "We minister to God reason to suspect us."

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • In The Tempest, Gonzalo speaks of ministering occasion to gentlemen. gutenberg.org
    • The King James Bible was published in 1611. en.wiktionary.org
    • The King James Bible contains 'he that ministereth seed to the sower' in 2 Corinthians 9:10. en.wikisource.org
    • Jeremy Taylor wrote 'We minister to God reason to suspect us'; this places the recipient introduced by 'to' before the thing supplied. en.wiktionary.org

Practice

Can you tell the meanings of minister apart? Answer 3 quick questions from this page, or write your own sentence and AI will check it.

Origins

Meanings 1–2, 4–5, 7

Latin minister ("an attendant, servant, or assistant") was formed from minor ("less") and -ter. It became Old French ministre and then Middle English ministre. Minorite is a doublet.

Meanings 3, 6, 8

Latin ministrō, from minister, together with Old French menistrer, ministrer and Middle French ministrer, gave Middle English mynystren, the source of this word.