minister
noun
/ˈmɪnɪstə(r)/
1 (often Minister) (in the UK and many other countries) a senior member of the government who is in charge of a government department or a branch of one
the Minister of Education
She became minister of education in 2016.
A new minister of defence had been appointed.
a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers
senior ministers in the Cabinet
cabinet/government ministers
the finance/defence/interior/justice minister
The health minister announced £10 billion in extra funding.
Collocations
adjective
verb + minister
appoint (somebody)
appoint somebody as
be named…
minister + verb
be accountable to somebody…
preposition
minister for
minister of
2 a trained religious leader in some Christian churches
a Methodist minister
He was ordained minister of a small rural congregation.
3 a person, lower in rank than an ambassador, whose job is to represent their government in a foreign country
Word Origin
Middle English (in sense (2); also in the sense ‘a person acting under the authority of another’): from Old French ministre (noun), ministrer (verb), from Latin minister ‘servant’, from minus ‘less’.
e.g.