lord

Definition

n. a man who has a lot of power or a high social rank, like a king or a noble. In some religions, people use this name to talk about God.

n. a person who has authority, control, or power over others; a master or ruler. When capitalized, it functions as a title for a nobleman or as a designation for a deity in monotheistic religions.

simple

“The Lord of the manor owned all the surrounding land.”

contextual

“In the British political system, a Lord sits in the upper house of Parliament to review new laws.”

complex

“The historical transition from feudalism saw the absolute power of the local Lord gradually replaced by centralized state authority and the rule of common law.”

Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word “lord” in context.

Verb

01. praise the lord

“The congregation stood up to praise the Lord with a joyful hymn.”

verb + noun

02. serve the lord

“The monks dedicated their entire lives to serving the Lord through prayer and charity.”

verb + noun

Adjective

03. feudal lord

“The peasants were required to work the land owned by the local feudal Lord.”

adj + noun

04. gracious lord

“The villagers bowed low and thanked the gracious Lord for his mercy.”

adj + noun

Noun

05. house of lords

“The new legislation was debated extensively in the House of Lords before being passed.”

noun + of + noun

06. lord of the manor

“As the Lord of the manor, he was responsible for the welfare of everyone living on his estate.”

noun + of + noun

Preposition

07. before the lord

“They knelt before the Lord to ask for forgiveness and guidance.”

prep + noun

Capitalized when used as a specific title or to refer to a deity; lowercase when used as a general term for a ruler.

“Among recent politicians to have attended Eton have been Lord David Cameron, Boris Johnson, Kwasi Kwarteng and Sir Jacob Rees-Mogg.”

BBC News 8 Sept 2026

“Lord Carnarvon’s daughter, Lady Evelyn Herbert, was among the first to enter, and she didn’t die until 1980.”

Ars Technica 24 Aug 2026

See lord. In reference to the God of the Jewish Tanakh and Christian Bible, originally a translation (attested from the late Old English form hlāford) of the Vulgate Latin Dominus (“master of a house; lord”), translating the New Testament and the Septuagint's Ancient Greek ὁ κύριος or Κύριος (ó kýrios, "the supreme one; Lord, Kyrios"), both in reference to Hebrew אֲדֹנָי (ʾdny, "my lord; my Lord, Adonai") from אדון (ʾdwn, "lord, patron; Lord") + י- (-y, "my"), cognate with Phoenician 𐤀𐤃𐤍 (ʾdn, "lord; Lord, Adon"). Adonai appears in the Tanakh both directly and as a euphemism read aloud during occurrences of the Tetragrammaton יהוה (YHWH, "I Am that I Am; Jehovah"). See the usage notes below. Displaced the earlier term Drighten.

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

NOUN

Lord(B2)

Count fealty lady laird