canterbury

¹

[kan-ter-ber-ee, -buh-ree]

noun

plural

canterburies 

1. a stand having sections for holding magazines, sheet music, or loose papers.

2. a supper tray with partitions for cutlery and plates.

Canterbury

²

[kan-ter-ber-ee, -buh-ree, -bree]

noun

1. a city in E Kent, in SE England: cathedral; early ecclesiastical center of England.

2. a municipality in E New South Wales, in SE Australia: a part of Sydney.

Canterbury

¹

/ ˈkæntəbərɪ, -brɪ /

noun

1. Latin name: Durovernum. a city in SE England, in E Kent: starting point for St Augustine's mission to England (597 _ad ); cathedral where St Thomas à Becket was martyred (1170); seat of the archbishop and primate of England; seat of the University of Kent (1965). Pop: 43 552 (2001)

2. a regional council area of New Zealand, on E central South Island on Canterbury Bight : mountainous with coastal lowlands; agricultural. Chief town: Christchurch. Pop: 520 500 (2004 est). Area: 43 371 sq km (16 742 sq miles)

canterbury

²

/ -brɪ, ˈkæntəbərɪ /

noun

1. a late 18th-century low wooden stand with partitions for holding cutlery and plates: often mounted on casters

2. a similar 19th-century stand used for holding sheet music, music books, or magazines

Other Word Forms

• Canterburian adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of Canterbury¹

1840–50; after Canterbury, England

Example Sentences

When Foster learned of Spencer's British passport, he signed him to a two-year deal at Canterbury.

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Fred dreams of beating his annual sales goal and earning a trip to Palm Springs, Calif., a place he reveres “the way others may have felt about Canterbury or Jerusalem or Mecca.”

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The Buckinghamshire drag queen will take on the role of Miss Hannigan when the production opens in May 2026 at Wimbledon, before heading to Birmingham, Manchester, Plymouth, and Canterbury.

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Wendy and Ken, who live near Canterbury, say the scam started with a phone call from a so-called detective constable, claiming someone had been arrested for trying to use their bank card in London.

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"We thought we were helping to stop what he was saying was this little gang working within Canterbury trying to steal people's money," she said.

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