chancery

American  

[chan-suh-ree] / ˈtʃæn sə ri /

noun

plural

chanceries

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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Etymology

Origin of chancery

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

Example Sentences

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

The Delaware Supreme Court reinstated Elon Musk’s Tesla pay package that the state’s Chancery courts had blocked for lack of transparency.

From Barron's • Dec. 27, 2025

The Chancery Rosewood hotel was contacted for comment.

From BBC • Dec. 10, 2025

I took a peep into the Chancery Court and saw O'Connell, who has plenty of business, they tell me.

From Barrington Volume I (of II) by Lever, Charles James