minister

/ˈmɪnəstər/

/ˈmɪnɪstə/

Other forms: ministers; ministering; ministered

You might meet a minister of the religious kind — a pastor or a rector. Or, you may meet a minister of the government kind — a prime minister or a minister of finance, for example.

You don't have to be religious to minister. When you minister to someone, you take care of them. All of these meanings of minister — both as a noun and as a verb — contain a grain of the original Latin meaning, "servant." A minister in a church serves his or her flock, and a prime minister serves his or her country.

Definitions of minister

1. noun

   a person authorized to conduct religious worship
   “clergymen are usually called ministers in Protestant churches”

   synonyms: curate, minister of religion, parson, pastor, rector

   types:

   ministrant

   someone who serves as a minister

   type of:

   clergyman, man of the cloth, reverend

   a member of the clergy and a spiritual leader of a Christian church
2. noun

   the job of a head of a government department
   types:

   cabinet minister

   the job of a senior minister who is a member of the cabinet

   type of:

   public service

   employment within a government system (especially in the civil service)
3. noun

   a person appointed to a high office in the government
   “Minister of Finance”

   synonyms: government minister

   examples:

   Haman

   (Old Testament) the minister of the Persian emperor who hated the Jews and was hanged for plotting to massacre them

   Ahmed Zoki Yamani

   Saudi Arabian minister of petroleum who was a central figure in the creation of OPEC (born in 1930)

   types:

   cabinet minister

   a person who is a member of the cabinet

   finance minister, minister of finance

   the minister responsible for state finances

   foreign minister, secretary of state

   a government minister for foreign relations

   Chancellor, Chancellor of the Exchequer

   the British cabinet minister responsible for finance

   Chief Secretary

   a member of the British Cabinet

   Home Secretary, Secretary of State for the Home Department

   the British cabinet minister who is head of the Home Office

   Lord Chancellor, Lord High Chancellor

   the highest officer of the Crown who is head of the judiciary and who presides in the House of Lords

   Lord Privy Seal

   the senior cabinet minister in the British Cabinet who has no official duties

   First Lord of the Treasury, Treasury

   the British cabinet minister responsible for economic strategy

   type of:

   executive, executive director

   a person responsible for the administration of a business
4. noun

   a diplomat representing one government to another; ranks below ambassador
   synonyms: diplomatic minister

   type of:

   diplomat, diplomatist

   an official engaged in international negotiations
5. verb

   attend to the wants and needs of others
   “I have to minister to my mother all the time”

   type of:

   attend, look, see, take care

   take charge of or deal with
6. verb

   work as a minister
   “She is ministering in an old parish”

   type of:

   work

   exert oneself by doing mental or physical work for a purpose or out of necessity