GOD


Meaning of GOD in English

God BrE AmE

1 . the spirit or power who Christians, Jews, and Muslims pray to and regard as the maker and ruler of the universe:

Most Americans believe in God.

We put our faith in God.

to pray to God

2 . God/oh (my) God/good God (almighty) informal used to show that you are surprised, annoyed, or amused, or to emphasize what you are saying:

Oh God, how embarrassing!

3 . God (only) knows informal

a) used to emphasize that you are annoyed because you do not know something, or because you think that something is unreasonable

God knows who/what/how etc

God knows what she’s doing in there.

b) used to emphasize what you are saying:

God knows, it hasn’t been easy.

4 . for God’s sake informal used to emphasize what you are saying when you are annoyed:

Oh, for God’s sake, shut up!

5 . God forbid (that) informal used to emphasize that you hope that something will not happen:

God forbid that she should ever hurt you.

6 . honest to God informal used to emphasize that you are not lying or joking:

Honest to God, I didn’t tell her!

7 . God help you/him etc informal used to warn someone that they will be punished for what they have done:

God help you if Mom comes home and you’re still here!

8 . God help us informal usually humorous used when you think that something bad is going to happen:

‘Simon’s doing the cooking.’ ‘God help us!’

9 . God bless used to show your affection for someone:

Goodnight, Jenny -- God bless.

10 . God willing informal used to say that you hope there will be no problems:

We’ll be moving next month, God willing.

11 . God-given received from God:

a God-given talent for singing

a God-given right (=the right to do something without asking anyone else’s opinion)

12 . God rest his/her soul ( also God rest him/her ) old-fashioned used to show respect when speaking about someone who is dead

13 . God moves in a mysterious way/mysterious ways saying a phrase from a Christian ↑ hymn (=a song of praise to God) , meaning that God’s intentions are not always clear, sometimes used humorously to mean that a bad event or situation may bring unexpected advantages

14 . God is in his heaven, all’s right with the world saying a phrase from a poem by Robert Browning

15 . Man proposes, God disposes saying people can make plans but whether or not they are successful depends on God

16 . My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me? a phrase which, according to the Bible, was spoken by Jesus just before he died on the cross

17 . Ye cannot serve God and Mammon saying a phrase from the Bible, meaning that you cannot spend all of your time trying to get rich and also be a good Christian

18 . Nearer my God to Thee a Christian ↑ hymn . It was sung by the people on the ship the Titanic as it sank.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.