Definition of "temple"

temple¹

/ˈtɛmp(ə)l/

noun
plural temples
1. A house of worship, especially:
  1. A house of worship dedicated to a polytheistic faith.
    Quotations
    As of October 1968 Lukang, which had a resident population of between 27,000 and 28,000 people, had 39 temples. It is my impression that Lukang has more temples than do most Taiwanese communities of equivalent size. By temple I mean a structure that houses an image, altar, and incense pot, and is freely accessible to the general public. In speaking of the 39 temples of Lukang, I am omitting the numerous small shrines to the unknown dead (Yu Ying Kung), buildings dedicated to ancestors rather than deities (two), Christian churches (four), incense-burner associations that keep their incense pot or image in private homes, and private shrines such as the domestic altars of tang-ki (spirit mediums) or the shrine of the now defunct Ch'üan-chou guild, found in the back room of a drugstore endowed with the guild property.[...]Lukang, seen in comparative perspective, has a lot of temples.
    1974, Donald R. DeGlopper, “Religion and Ritual in Lukang”, in Arthur P. Wolf, editor, Religion and Ritual in Chinese Society (Studies in Chinese Society)‎, Stanford: Stanford University Press, page 46
  2. (Judaism) Synonym of synagogue, especially a non-Orthodox synagogue.
  3. (Mormonism) As opposed to an LDS meetinghouse, a church closed to non-Mormons and necessary for particular rituals.
2. A meeting house of the Oddfellows fraternity; its members.
3. (figurative) Any place regarded as holding a religious presence.
4. (figurative) Any place seen as an important centre for some activity.
5. (figurative) Anything regarded as important or minutely cared for.
  Quotations
  For nature crescent does not grow aloneIn thews and bulks, but as this temple waxes,The inward service of the mind and soulGrows wide withal.
  c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, [Act I, scene iii], lines 11–14
6. (figurative) A gesture wherein the forefingers are outstretched and touch pad to pad while the other fingers are clasped together.
  Quotations
  Again Abdullah listened intently, his eyes closed, his ten fingers forming a temple of his hands in front of him.
  2010, James LePore, A World I Never Made, page 251
verb
third-person singular simple present temples, present participle templing, simple past and past participle templed
1. (transitive) To build a temple for; to appropriate a temple to; to temple a god
  Quotations
  though the Heathen (in many places) Templed and adored this drunken God
  1623, Owen Feltham, Resolves: Divine, Moral, Political

temple²

/ˈtɛmp(ə)l/

noun
plural temples
1. (anatomy) The slightly flatter region, on either side of the human head, behind the eye and forehead, above the zygomatic arch, and forward of the ear.
2. (ophthalmology) Either of the sidepieces on a set of spectacles, extending backwards from the hinge toward the ears and, usually, turning down around them.

temple³

/ˈtɛmp(ə)l/

noun
plural temples
1. (weaving) A contrivance used in a loom for keeping the web stretched transversely.