chalice
Americannoun
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Ecclesiastical.
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a cup for the wine of the Eucharist or Mass.
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the wine contained in it.
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a drinking cup or goblet.
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a cuplike blossom.
noun
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poetic a drinking cup; goblet
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Christianity a gold or silver cup containing the wine at Mass
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the calyx of a flower, esp a cup-shaped calyx
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chalice
before 900; Middle English < Middle French < Latin calici- (stem of calix ) cup; replacing Middle English caliz, calc, Old English calic < Latin calici-, as above
Explanation
A chalice is a bowl-shaped drinking vessel. Chalices were all the rage back in King Arthur's day. You won't come across the word chalice very often today (outside of books, anyway) unless you hang out at those Renaissance fairs where everyone dresses up as knights. The term "poisoned chalice" is good for describing something that looks beneficial, but is actually harmful.
Vocabulary lists containing chalice
"Macbeth": Act 1 Scene 7
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The Poet X
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Novel Study: Macbeth, Acts 1–2
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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.
"It's kind of a poisoned chalice for any Chinese defence minister to speak out publicly," said Jennifer Parker, adjunct professor at the University of Western Australia's Defence and Security Institute.
From Barron's • May 29, 2026
To end the Iran-Iraq war, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini made the difficult call during a high level of debate to end the fighting, a decision he likened to drinking from a poisoned chalice.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 25, 2026
"Factor in the costs and that you're going to need a more expensive squad and qualification for the Conference League is now a bit of a poisoned chalice."
From BBC • Mar. 10, 2026
“You need fire and you need a chalice. To me, that fire is my creativity. It’s my birthright to create. And that chalice is the community that holds me.”
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 8, 2026
On the first step of the stairwell, a golden chalice gleamed.
From "The House of Hades" by Rick Riordan
Definitions 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.
