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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

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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

She also attended a Catholic elementary school and was a cantor at the church across the street, she said in a 2013 interview with Nylon.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 10, 2023

Then the cantor and Danny’s father stood over him and blessed him.

From "The Wednesday Wars" by Gary D. Schmidt

"There's an argument Gross is pound-for-pound the best value player in the Premier League over the last 10 years, especially when you look at his goal involvements," said BBC Radio Sussex commentor Johnny Cantor.

From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026

He started an investment firm that managed $1.5 billion in assets and was sold to Cantor Fitzgerald Investment Advisors in 2017.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Thomas Blakey wrote that, ”importantly,” MongoDB stuck with its full-year forecast while disclosing the CEO transition.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 28, 2026

Everyone from Ashton Kutcher to Rep. Eric Cantor, the House majority leader at the time, was recorded encouraging children to learn to write code.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 2026

Davey Cantor had said something about a cerebral hemorrhage.

From "The Chosen" by Chaim Potok

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