temple noun - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com

Definition of temple noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

temple

noun
 
/ˈtempl/
 
/ˈtempl/
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  1. a building used for religious worship, especially in religions other than Christianity
    • the Temple of Diana at Ephesus
    • a Buddhist/Hindu/Sikh temple
    • (North American English) to go to temple (= to a service in a synagogue, where Jewish people worship)
    Collocations ReligionReligionBeing religious
    • believe in God/​Christ/​Allah/​free will/​predestination/​heaven and hell/​an afterlife/​reincarnation
    • be/​become a believer/​an atheist/​an agnostic/​a Christian/​Muslim/​Hindu/​Buddhist, etc.
    • convert to/​practise a religion/​Buddhism/​Catholicism/​Christianity/​Islam/​Judaism, etc.
    • go to church/(North American English) temple (= the synagogue)
    • go to the local church/​mosque/​synagogue/​gurdwara
    • belong to a church/​a religious community
    • join/​enter the church/​a convent/​a monastery/​a religious sect/​the clergy/​the priesthood
    • praise/​worship/​obey/​serve/​glorify God
    Celebrations and ritual
    • attend/​hold/​conduct/​lead a service
    • perform a ceremony/​a rite/​a ritual/​a baptism/​the Hajj/​a mitzvah
    • carry out/​perform a sacred/​burial/​funeral/​fertility/​purification rite
    • go on/​make a pilgrimage
    • celebrate Christmas/​Easter/​Eid/​Ramadan/​Hanukkah/​Passover/​Diwali
    • observe/​break the Sabbath/​a fast/​Ramadan
    • deliver/​preach/​hear a sermon
    • lead/​address the congregation
    • say/​recite a prayer/​blessing
    Religious texts and ideas
    • preach/​proclaim/​spread the word of God/​the Gospel/​the message of Islam
    • study/​follow the dharma/​the teachings of Buddha
    • read/​study/​understand/​interpret scripture/​the Bible/​the Koran/​the gospel/​the Torah
    • be based on/​derive from divine revelation
    • commit/​consider something heresy/​sacrilege
    Religious belief and experience
    • seek/​find/​gain enlightenment/​wisdom
    • strengthen/​lose your faith
    • keep/​practise/​practice/​abandon the faith
    • save/​purify/​lose your soul
    • obey/​follow/​keep/​break/​violate a commandment/​Islamic law/​Jewish law
    • be/​accept/​do God’s will
    • receive/​experience divine grace
    • achieve/​attain enlightenment/​salvation/​nirvana
    • undergo a conversion/​rebirth/​reincarnation
    • hear/​answer a prayer
    • commit/​confess/​forgive a sin
    • do/​perform penance
    Extra Examples
    • They went to pray in the temple.
    • These deities prevent evil spirits from entering the temple precincts.
    • a temple dedicated to Venus
    • the great temples of Egypt
    Topics Religion and festivalsb2, Buildingsb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • great
    • ancient
    • classical
    verb + temple
    • dedicate
    temple + noun
    • priest
    • priestess
    • complex
    preposition
    • in a/​the temple
    • to temple
    See full entry
  2. each of the flat parts at the sides of the head, at the same level as the eyes and higher
    • He had black hair, greying at the temples.
    • There was a throbbing in her temples.
    Topics Bodyc1
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • left
    • right
    • throbbing
    verb + temple
    • massage
    • rub
    temple + verb
    • throb
    preposition
    • at somebody’s/​the temples
    • in somebody’s temples
    See full entry
  3. Word Originsense 1 Old English templ, tempel, reinforced in Middle English by Old French temple, both from Latin templum ‘open or consecrated space’.sense 2 Middle English: from Old French, from an alteration of Latin tempora, plural of tempus ‘temple of the head’.
See temple in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee temple in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
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