chancery

American  

[chan-suh-ree] / ˈtʃæn sə ri /

noun

chanceries plural

1. the office or department of a chancellor; chancellery.

2. an office of public records, especially those of the Lord Chancellor in England.

3. (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice.

4. Law.

   1. Also called court of chancery.  a court having jurisdiction in equity; court of equity.

   2. equity.

5. the administrative office of a diocese.

6. Roman Catholic Church. a department of the Curia Romana now having the responsibility for issuing bulls to establish new dioceses, benefices, etc.

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idioms

1. in chancery,

   1. Law. in litigation in a court of chancery.

   2. Wrestling, Boxing. (of a contestant's head) held under an opponent's arm.

   3. in a helpless or embarrassing position.

chancery British  

/ ˈtʃɑːnsərɪ /

noun

1. Also called: Chancery Division.  (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice

2. Also called: court of chancery.  (in the US) a court of equity

3. the political section or offices of an embassy or legation

4. another name for chancellery

5. a court of public records; archives

6. Christianity a diocesan office under the supervision of a bishop's chancellor, having custody of archives, issuing official enactments, etc

7. 1. law (of a suit) pending in a court of equity

   2. wrestling boxing (of a competitor's head) locked under an opponent's arm

   3. in an awkward or helpless situation

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Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

noun

• chanceries
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chancery

1325–75; Middle English chancerie, variant of chancelrie, syncopated variant of chancellerie chancellery

Example Sentences

A Delaware Court of Chancery judge delivered a blow to wrestling impresario Vince McMahon and other World Wrestling Entertainment officials earlier this week.

From Los Angeles Times • May 30, 2026

On Tuesday, the Davidson County Chancery Court set a hearing for the NAACP’s case for May 21.

From Slate • May 14, 2026

However, in response to a shareholder lawsuit, the Delaware Chancery Court invalidated the options package in 2024.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 27, 2026

On Thursday, Delaware Chancery Court Judge Morgan Zurn denied Paramount’s motion to expedite, saying that Paramount hasn’t proven it would suffer irreparable harm from any alleged omissions of information by Warner.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026

Graves Inn, nearly opposite the north end of Chancery Lane, once belonged to the Lords Gray of Wilton. 

From Collins' Illustrated Guide to London and Neighbourhood by Anonymous