A denomination is a name or label that identifies a particular value or type within a larger category.

You see denominations most often with money. Dollar bills come in different denominations: $1, $5, $10, $20, $50, and $100. Each denomination tells you exactly how much that bill is worth. When a bank teller counts a stack of cash, they sort it by denomination first, putting all the fives together, all the tens together, and so on. Coins have denominations too: pennies, nickels, dimes, and quarters.

The word also describes different branches within a religion. Christianity has many denominations, including Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, and Lutheran churches. These groups share core beliefs but have different traditions, ways of worshiping, or interpretations of teachings. Similarly, Judaism has denominations like Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform. Members of different denominations within the same religion often worship in different buildings and follow different practices, but they consider themselves part of the same broader faith.

Whether it's telling a twenty-dollar bill from a five, or understanding that your Methodist neighbor and your Catholic friend practice different forms of Christianity, denominations help us recognize important distinctions within larger groups.