adjective

LDS

el-dee-ESS

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LDS (adjective) means belonging to or connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the religious denomination whose members are commonly called Mormons. Example: “She grew up in an LDS family in southern Idaho.”

adjective

Belonging to or connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the religious denomination whose members are commonly called Mormons.

"She grew up in an LDS family in southern Idaho."

"The LDS Church operates temples in more than a hundred countries."

noun

A member of that church; Latter-day Saints collectively.

"Most of his neighbours were LDS."

specialist In dentistry, lithium disilicate, a ceramic used for crowns and veneers.

"The lab returned an LDS crown for the upper premolar."

How to use LDS

Learner’s notes

In plain EnglishLDS refers to the Mormon church and its members.

When to use it

Used both by members and by outsiders. The church itself asks that its full name be used where possible and discourages Mormon and Mormon Church as substitutes, though those remain common in general usage. Note the lower-case d and the hyphen in Latter-day.

Memory tip

LDS is not LSD. The letters stand for Latter-day Saints, and the phrase is always written with a hyphen and a small d.

Trace the full origin ↓

Easily confused with

LSD Mormon → RLDS Community of Christ

Common pairings

LDS Church LDS temple LDS missionary LDS ward

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C2 · Advanced serendipity Fortunate discoveries made entirely by accident.

Gen Z slang rizz Charm — the ability to attract a romantic interest.

B2 · Intermediate empathy The capacity to share another person’s feelings.

C1 · Advanced nonchalant Casually calm and relaxed; unconcerned.

Internet slang delulu Delusional — believing something against the odds.

Etymology nostalgia Greek nostos “return home” + algos “pain”.

C2 · Advanced serendipity Fortunate discoveries made entirely by accident.

Gen Z slang rizz Charm — the ability to attract a romantic interest.

B2 · Intermediate empathy The capacity to share another person’s feelings.

C1 · Advanced nonchalant Casually calm and relaxed; unconcerned.

Internet slang delulu Delusional — believing something against the odds.

Etymology nostalgia Greek nostos “return home” + algos “pain”.

Test yourself on “LDS” A quick quiz — meaning, synonyms & usage →

Fill the gap

Can you complete this real example?

She grew up in an _____ family in southern Idaho.

Etymology

An initialism of Latter-day Saints.

Origin: English

Rhymes for LDS

Olds worlds Childs

See all rhymes for LDS →

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between LDS and Mormon?

They point to the same faith. LDS is the abbreviation of the church's own name, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints; Mormon is a nickname taken from the Book of Mormon. The church has asked people to use its full name or Latter-day Saints rather than Mormon.

Are all Latter-day Saints part of the same church?

No. The great majority belong to the Salt Lake City-based Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, but several smaller denominations trace to the same nineteenth-century movement, the largest being the Community of Christ, formerly the Reorganized Church.

Why is it written Latter-day and not Latter-Day?

The church's own style hyphenates the phrase and keeps day in lower case. Latter-day Saints is the correct form, and the abbreviation LDS follows from it.

What is the meaning of LDS?

"LDS" (adjective) means belonging to or connected with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the religious denomination whose members are commonly called Mormons.