choir
Americannoun
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choirs
plural
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a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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any group of musicians or musical instruments; a musical company, or band, or a division of one.
string choir.
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Architecture.
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the part of a church occupied by the singers of the choir.
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the part of a cruciform church east of the crossing.
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(in medieval angelology) one of the orders of angels.
adjective
verb (used with or without object)
idioms
noun
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an organized group of singers, esp for singing in church services
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the part of a cathedral, abbey, or church in front of the altar, lined on both sides with benches, and used by the choir and clergy Compare chancel
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( as modifier )
choir stalls
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a number of instruments of the same family playing together
a brass choir
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Also called: choir organ. one of the manuals on an organ controlling a set of soft sweet-toned pipes Compare great swell
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any of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of choir
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English quer, from Old French cuer, from Latin chorus “choir,” replacing Old English chor, from Latin; see chorus
Explanation
A choir is group of singers, often gathered for church ceremonies. If you love to sing but don't fancy a solo turn on a TV talent show, perhaps joining a choir would satisfy you. Choir, pronounced QUIRE, comes from the Latin word chorus, which itself comes from the Greek name for a group of singers and dancers. We still use chorus for singing or dancing, but choir is exclusively for singing groups. Although choirs are traditionally associated with church services, they don't have to be. If you love singing but aren't religious, you could start a choir that sings about the glory of donuts. It's also a verb, as in, "I love to choir."
Vocabulary lists containing choir
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
At a municipal center, a choir of about a hundred faithful practices hymns for the ceremony.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
But, like Mona and her fond memories of childhood church choir, I couldn’t let the urge go.
From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026
But instead of preaching to the choir, he contends with society’s gray areas, never offering a solution — or even his own opinion — on the difficult topics at hand.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026
When I saw him at a Hispanic church in Kissimmee, he was preaching to the proverbial choir - but pitching his message with a nod to the fact that for many money is currently tight.
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2026
Dad’s choir is in whatever white shirts, black pants, and black shoes everybody could find.
From "Shine!" by J.J. and Chris Grabenstein
Kohl Hall will be part of the school where Colburn’s symphony orchestra, bands, youth string programs and children’s choirs will perform.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The event, billed as the The Land of Song Festival, will feature world-renowned Italian Tenor Andrea Bocelli, but choirs are pulling out because of steep costs that include fees for individual singers.
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
Gospel choirs, country musicians, jazz ensembles, mariachi groups, Indigenous performers, military bands and local community orchestras share stages throughout the city.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
In Meghalaya's capital, music spills constantly through public life: church choirs rehearsing late into the evening, teenage metal bands in garages, blues musicians drifting through dimly-lit bars.
From BBC ● May 15, 2026
About this time, Marian was invited to join the People’s Chorus, made up of a hundred voices recruited from black church choirs all over the city.
From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
