Collins COBUILD Advanced Learner's English Dictionary - minister

(ministers, ministering, ministered) Frequency: The word is one of the 700 most common words in English. 1. In Britain and some other countries, a minister is a person who is in charge of a particular government department. When the government had come to power, he had been named minister of culture... The new Defence Minister is Senator Robert Ray. N-COUNT: oft N of n, n N 2. A minister is a person who officially represents their government in a foreign country and has a lower rank than an ambassador. He concluded a deal with the Danish minister in Washington. N-COUNT: usu supp N 3. A minister is a member of the clergy, especially in Protestant churches. His father was a Baptist minister. N-COUNT 4. If you minister to people or to their needs, you serve them or help them, for example by making sure that they have everything they need or want. (FORMAL) For 44 years he had ministered to the poor, the sick, the neglected and the deprived. VERB: V to n