synagogue
Americannoun
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synagogues
plural
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a Jewish house of worship, often having facilities for religious instruction.
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an assembly or congregation of Jews for the purpose of religious worship.
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the Jewish religion; Judaism.
noun
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a building for Jewish religious services and usually also for religious instruction
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( as modifier )
synagogue services
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a congregation of Jews who assemble for worship or religious study
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the religion of Judaism as organized in such congregations
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of synagogue
1125–75; Middle English synagoge < Late Latin synagōga < Greek synagōgḗ assembly, meeting, equivalent to syn- syn- + agōgḗ, noun use of feminine of agōgós (adj.) gathering, derivative of ágein to bring, lead; akin to Latin agere to drive
Explanation
A synagogue is a Jewish house of worship. A synagogue, sometimes called a temple or a shul, is for Jews what a church is for Christians, or a mosque for Muslims, or a temple for Hindus. The word comes from the Greek roots sun "together" and agein "bring" — it's a building where worshipers are brought together.
Vocabulary lists containing synagogue
It's Lit: Hanukkah Words
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Maus I: My Father Bleeds History
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World Religions
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In 2015, he demonstrated the successful digital unrolling of a charred scroll recovered from a synagogue that burned around 600 C.E.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 26, 2026
The Emeritus Rabbi of the New North London synagogue told the BBC he wanted to show that what was happening to Palestinians there mattered to him and his community.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
A memorial service will take place at Heaton Park synagogue later to commemorate the victims and survivors.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
Those photos showed stones, and on those stones were Hebrew inscriptions—emerging from oblivion, the unimaginable remains of a synagogue whose existence no one had suspected.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
The noise inside the synagogue ceased so abruptly that I felt its absence as one would a sudden lack of air.
From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok
The duo were arrested in the Northern Quarter area of the city, when thousands of British Jews were in synagogues.
From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2026
According to demographer Ira Sheskin, the number of religiously liberal synagogues in the U.S. has declined over the past 20 years, while the number of Chabad synagogues has grown from 346 to 1,036.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 10, 2026
I am also proud to work hand in hand with the CST to protect synagogues, Jewish schools and community centres.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Other synagogues, churches and mosques are on the path to rebuilding, but they are facing the same hurdles as many of their congregants and members, and then some.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026
Enrollment at churches and synagogues rose as never before, the requests for wine overwhelming some priests and rabbis.
From "1919 The Year That Changed America" by Martin W. Sandler
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
