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• cantor
  cantor

  noun

  the religious official of a synagogue who conducts the liturgical portion of a service and sings or chants the prayers and parts of prayers designed to be performed as solos.
• Cantor
  Cantor

  noun

  Eddie Edward Israel Iskovitz, 1892–1964, U.S. singer and entertainer.

cantor

¹ American  

[kan-ter, -tawr] / ˈkæn tər, -tɔr /

noun

1. the religious official of a synagogue who conducts the liturgical portion of a service and sings or chants the prayers and parts of prayers designed to be performed as solos.

2. an official whose duty is to lead the singing in a cathedral or in a collegiate or parish church; a precentor.

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Cantor ² American  

[kan-ter, kahn-tawr] / ˈkæn tər, ˈkɑn tɔr /

noun

1. Eddie Edward Israel Iskovitz, 1892–1964, U.S. singer and entertainer.

2. Georg 1845–1918, German mathematician, born in Russia.

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cantor British  

/ ˈkæntɔː /

noun

1. Also called: chazan.  Judaism a man employed to lead synagogue services, esp to traditional modes and melodies

2. Christianity the leader of the singing in a church choir

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Etymology

Origin of cantor

1530–40; < Latin: singer, equivalent to can ( ere ) to sing + -tor -tor

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cantor Cantor

They were also performed for the first time in 320 years at the St Thomas Church in Leipzig, where Bach is buried and served as a cantor for 27 years.

From Barron's ● Nov. 17, 2025

In Grades IV and V, they perform tests at a walk, trot, cantor and do lateral work.

From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2024

Douglas Purcell, the cantor at St. Ignatius Loyola, said in an interview after the service that the lack of mention of the former president seemed to be in accordance with Barry’s wishes.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 17, 2023

A children’s choir with elementary school students from several campuses in the diocese sang hymns along with the cathedral cantor.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2023

A good cantor can recite the traditional riddles for all fifty-four cards in the Lotería by heart as he reveals each card to the players.

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Kalshi recently announced another partnership with Cantor Fitzgerald.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026

Cantor Fitzgerald will act as a broker, buying or selling blocks of event contracts and helping to distribute them through private negotiations.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026

He ran for office again after moving to Virginia, challenging Republican incumbent Eric Cantor for his seat in 2002 but was again unsuccessful.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026

Analyst CJ Muse and team at Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage with a buy recommendation and a price target of $300, more than double Monday evening’s closing price in the U.S.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026

Then, in 1884, the depressed Cantor had his first mental breakdown.

From "Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea" by Charles Seife