diocese

noun

di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs 

-ˌsēs, 

-ˌsēz

plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-sə-səz 

-ˌsē-zəz

nonstandard ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz

: the territorial jurisdiction of a bishop

diocesan

dī-ˈä-sə-sən 

also ˈdī-ə-ˌsē-sᵊn

adjective

Examples of diocese in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Charlotte diocese attributes some of its growth to the region’s growing population overall, especially folks moving in from more traditionally Catholic areas such as the Northeast, Midwest and Latin American countries, Chandler said. —Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 30 Apr. 2026

The diocese said closures were part of the Mission Alignment Process (MAP), which began in 2021 and looked at parish data which found where parishes were struggling the most. —Tim Fang, CBS News, 30 Apr. 2026

In a letter to the diocese, the Bishop of Oakland, Michael Barber, stated that the majority of the closures were in Oakland, along with four other churches in Alameda County and two in Contra Costa County. —Noe Padilla, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2026

The diocese’s moves come on the heels of its decision in 2024 to close two elementary schools amid declining enrollment and operating deficits that forced officials to tap into reserve funds. —Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 30 Apr. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English diocise, dyoces, borrowed from Anglo-French diocise, dyocés, borrowed from Late Latin diocēsis, dioecēsis "administrative district, province, group of provinces (in the later Roman Empire), jurisdiction of a bishop" (Latin, "administrative district"), borrowed from Late Greek dioíkēsis "administration, control, ordering, civil or ecclesiastical group of provinces, jurisdiction of a bishop," going back to Greek, "management, administration," from dioikē-, variant stem of dioikéō, dioikeîn "to control, manage, look after" (from di- di- + oikeîn "to live, have one's home, order, govern," derivative of oîkos "house, home") + -sis -sis — more at vicinity

Note: In early Modern English diocise, passed on from Middle English, competed unsuccessfully with the Latin/French-influenced forms diocess and diocese. The variant diocess was predominant in the eighteenth century and is the only form entered in Samuel Johnson's dictionary (1755). The situation had changed, at least in the U.S., by the early nineteenth century: Noah Webster, in his American Dictionary of the English Language (1828), enters only diocese, and regards diocess as "a very erroneous orthography."

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for diocese

• agrees
• appease
• bailees
• bougies
• burmese
• chemise
• chickpeas
• chinese
• cowpeas
• curies
• decrees
• degrees

Kids Definition

diocese

noun

di·​o·​cese ˈdī-ə-səs 

-ˌsēz, 

-ˌsēs

plural dioceses ˈdī-ə-ˌsēz 

-ˌsē-zēz, 

-sə-səz

: the district over which a bishop has authority