chore

American  

[chawr, chohr] / tʃɔr, tʃoʊr /

noun

1. a small or odd job; routine task.

   Synonyms:

   stint, errand, work, duty

2. chores, the everyday work around a house or farm.

3. a hard or unpleasant task.

   Solving the problem was quite a chore.

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chore ¹ British  

/ tʃɔː /

noun

1. a small routine task, esp a domestic one

2. an unpleasant task

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-chore ² British  

combining form

1. (in botany) indicating a plant distributed by a certain means

   anemochore

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Related Words

See task.

Other Word Forms

• -chorous combining form

Etymology

Origin of chore

First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English char, Old English cyrr, variant of cierr, cerr. See char ³

Example Sentences

Corporate retreats are generally assumed to be torture, or at least a semi-stressful chore, what with their forced-fun activities and hybrid work-play environments that leave workers confused about boundaries.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 6, 2026

"MP3 players were clunky, storage was limited, and managing your music library felt like a chore," he said.

From BBC • Apr. 4, 2026

Cleaning becomes less of a chore and more of a small, sensory pleasure—something I don’t mind returning to, night after night.

From Salon • Mar. 19, 2026

When he needed a steel bracket for a household chore, he designed one and sent the plans to Sendcutsend, an on-demand manufacturer, which quickly turned it into a physical product.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 16, 2026

Even when we gotta do a chore together we just get it over with and then don’t bother with each other.

From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña

Related Words

• assignment
• burden
• duty
• errand
• housework
• routine
• workout