Vatican

noun

Vat·​i·​can ˈva-ti-kən 

1

: the papal headquarters in Rome

2

: the papal government

Vatican adjective

Examples of Vatican in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Pope Francis arrives to exchange the season's greetings with Vatican employees, in the Paul VI Hall at the Vatican, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. —CBS News, 21 Dec. 2024

Starting on December 24, 2024 (Christmas Eve), and running until January 6, 2026, Jubilee 2025 will transform Vatican City and the Eternal City into an ongoing spiritual celebration with events, masses, pilgrimages, and more. —Erica Firpo, AFAR Media, 20 Dec. 2024

The public, after all, had come to know Buckley as a conservative Catholic who was critical of the Second Vatican Council and had written three dozen articles about two popes. —Bill Meehan, National Review, 19 Dec. 2024

This interactive motif recurs throughout, yet it is expressed no more exceptionally than in Vatican City. —Lewis Gordon, Vulture, 18 Dec. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Latin (mons) Vāticānus, hill on the west bank of the Tiber, the traditional site of the apostle Peter's tomb, on which a basilica was built in the 4th century

First Known Use

1555, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing Vatican

• the Vatican