god

god [gɔd US ga:d] n

[: Old English;]

1.) God

the spirit or ↑being who Christians, Jews, Muslims etc pray to, and who they believe created the universe

▪ Most Americans still believe in God .

▪ Nothing could shake his belief in God .

▪ He thought it was the will of God that he should suffer.

▪ We believe that the Bible is the word of God .

▪ Every day is a gift from God .

2.)

a male spirit or ↑being who is believed by some religions to control the world or part of it, or who represents a particular quality

→↑goddess god of

▪ Mars, the god of war

Roman/Greek etc god

3.) God's gift to sb/sth

someone who thinks they are perfect or extremely attractive - used to show disapproval

▪ Paul thinks he's God's gift to women.

4.)

someone who is admired very much

▪ To his fans he is a god.

5.)

something which you give too much importance or respect to

▪ Money became his god.

6.) the gods

a) the force that some people believe controls their lives, bringing them good or bad luck

▪ The gods are against us.

b) BrE informal old-fashioned the seats high up and at the back of a theatre

7.) God/oh (my) God/good God/God almighty

spoken used to emphasize what you are saying, when you are surprised, annoyed, or amused

▪ Oh God, how embarrassing!

8.) for God's sake

spoken used to emphasize something you are saying when you are annoyed

▪ For God's sake, shut up!

9.) I swear/hope/wish/pray to God

spoken used to emphasize that you promise, hope etc that something is true

▪ I hope to God nothing goes wrong.

10.) God forbid (that)

spoken used to say that you very much hope that something will not happen

▪ God forbid that this should ever happen again.

11.) God (only) knows

spoken

a) used to show that you are annoyed because you do not know something, or because you think that something is unreasonable

God (only) knows who/what/how etc

▪ God knows what she's doing in there.

▪ It'll cost God only knows how much.

b) used to emphasize what you are saying

▪ God knows, it hasn't been easy.

12.) what/how/where/who in God's name

spoken used to emphasize a question when you are angry or surprised

▪ Where in God's name have you been?

13.) God help you/him etc

spoken used to warn someone that something bad will happen

▪ God help you if you spill anything on the carpet.

14.) God help us

spoken said humorously when you think that something bad is going to happen

▪ 'Simon's doing the cooking.' 'God help us!'

15.) honest to God

spoken used to emphasize that you are not lying or joking

▪ Honest to God, I didn't tell her!

16.) God willing

spoken used to say that you hope there will be no problems

▪ We'll be moving next month, God willing.

17.) God bless

spoken used to say that you hope someone will be safe and happy, especially when you are saying goodbye

▪ Good night and God bless.

18.) God give me strength!

spoken used when you are becoming annoyed

19.) there is a God!

spoken said when someone is explaining that something very good happened to them at a time when they thought that their situation was very bad

▪ In walked four gorgeous, blond Swedish boys, and I thought, 'There is a God!'

20.) God rest his/her soul also God rest him/her

spoken old use used to show respect when speaking about someone who is dead

21.) by God

spoken old use used to emphasize how determined or surprised you are

→there but for the grace of God at ↑grace¹ (6)

→in the lap of the gods at ↑lap¹ (6)

→play God at ↑play¹ (8)

→thank God/goodness/heavens at ↑thank

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬

COLLOCATES for sense 1

believe in God

worship God

pray to God

belief/faith in God

God's will/the will of God (=what God wants to happen)

the word of God (=what God says)

gift from/of God

Almighty God/God Almighty (=used in prayers and hymn s)

HINT sense 1

In this sense, God is written with a capital letter and without 'the': We asked God (NOT the God) to help us. Expressions containing the word God such as oh my God are common in spoken English but can offend religious people.

WORD FOCUS: God

places where people worship God: church (=Christians)

temple (=Buddhists and Hindus)

mosque (=Muslims)

synagogue (=Jews)

treated with great respect because of being connected with God: holy, sacred

having strong beliefs in God: devout, pious

someone who does not believe in God : atheist

someone who is not sure if God exists: agnostic

See also: spiritual

▬▬▬▬▬▬▬