Advertisement - Continue reading below

Definition of "hymn" []

  • A song of praise or thanksgiving to God or a deity. (noun)
  • A song of praise or joy; a paean. (noun)
  • To praise, glorify, or worship in or as if in a hymn. (verb-transitive)
  • To sing hymns. (verb-intransitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "hymn" in a sentence
  • "The term hymn has a less definite meaning than those of antiphon or responsory, and in the primitive liturgies its use is somewhat uncertain."
  • "[1] Whenever in this work the term hymn occurs, it is applied to the words as distinguished from the music."
  • "One thing you notice when you attend non-Catholic services where people sing with gusto, where people love their hymns, and the hymns truly do reflect an organic preference of the people: all the verses are sung because the hymn is the only thing going on."