chamber

[ cheym-ber ]

/ ˈtʃeɪm bər /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chamber ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a room, usually private, in a house or apartment, especially a bedroom: She retired to her chamber.

a room in a palace or official residence.

the meeting hall of a legislative or other assembly.

chambers, Law.

a place where a judge hears matters not requiring action in open court.
the private office of a judge.
(in England) the quarters or rooms that lawyers use to consult with their clients, especially in the Inns of Court.

a legislative, judicial, or other like body: the upper or the lower chamber of a legislature.

an organization of individuals or companies for a specified purpose.

the place where the moneys due a government are received and kept; a treasury or chamberlain's office.

(in early New England) any bedroom above the ground floor, generally named for the ground-floor room beneath it.

a compartment or enclosed space; cavity: a chamber of the heart.

(in a canal or the like) the space between any two gates of a lock.

a receptacle for one or more cartridges in a firearm, or for a shell in a gun or other cannon.

(in a gun) the part of the barrel that receives the charge.

chamber pot.

adjective

of, relating to, or performing chamber music: chamber players.

verb (used with object)

to put or enclose in, or as in, a chamber.

to provide with a chamber.

Nearby words

Origin of chamber

1175–1225; Middle English chambre < Old French < Latin camera, variant of camara vaulted room, vault < Greek kamára

Related formsun·der·cham·ber, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for chamber

As one walks from chamber to chamber, a number of things become abundantly clear.
The Virgin Mary Lookbook|William O’Connor|December 7, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Heads turned and people stared for a minute, as three policemen him pulled out of the chamber.
Keystone Senate Failure Is Environmental Kabuki Theater|Ben Jacobs|November 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This is how Ron Weasley explains the term “Mudblood” in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
Why I Named My Quidditch Film Mudbloods|Farzad Sangari|October 14, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Asked if he knew the names of the newborn quadruplets, Merritt recalled two: gi—a karate outfit—and po—a chamber pot.
Well, La Ti Da: Stephin Merritt’s Winning Little Words of Scrabble|David Bukszpan|October 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST

I now know this was a conduction-style vaporizer, which requires a chamber to hold the steam.
This Is Your E-Cigarette on Drugs|Daniel Genis|July 28, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The noise increased, and advanced nearer, till it seemed at the door, and at last in the chamber.
Traditions, Superstitions and Folk-lore|Charles Hardwick
If the float is too high on its stem, the gasoline control valve may not be operated until the fuel overflows in its chamber.
The Gasoline Motor|Harold Whiting Slauson
Again the door was thrown open, and this time the Dean ushered the Prince into the chamber, and conducted him toward the dais.
The Prince of India, Volume II|Lew. Wallace
When all was ready the mother carried the bride to that chamber where she should lie, to disarray her for the night.
French Mediaeval Romances from the Lays of Marie de France|Marie de France
Not that the chamber was cheerful—far from it, for it was intensely dark,—but our Indian was a practical man.
The Walrus Hunters|R.M. Ballantyne

British Dictionary definitions for chamber

chamber

/ (ˈtʃeɪmbə) /

noun

a meeting hall, esp one used for a legislative or judicial assembly

a reception room or audience room in an official residence, palace, etc

archaic, or poetic a room in a private house, esp a bedroom

a legislative, deliberative, judicial, or administrative assembly
any of the houses of a legislature

an enclosed space; compartment; cavitythe smallest chamber in the caves

the space between two gates of the locks of a canal, dry dock, etc

an enclosure for a cartridge in the cylinder of a revolver or for a shell in the breech of a cannon

obsolete a place where the money of a government, corporation, etc, was stored; treasury

short for chamber pot

NZ the freezing room in an abattoir

(modifier) of, relating to, or suitable for chamber musica chamber concert

verb

(tr) to put in or provide with a chamber

Word Origin for chamber

C13: from Old French chambre, from Late Latin camera room, Latin: vault, from Greek kamara

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for chamber

chamber

c.1200, "room," usually a private one, from Old French chambre "room, chamber, apartment," also used in combinations to form words for "latrine, privy" (11c.), from Late Latin camera "a chamber, room" (see camera). In anatomy from late 14c.; of machinery from 1769. Gunnery sense is from 1620s. Meaning "legislative body" is from c.1400. Chamber music (1789) was that meant to be performed in private rooms instead of public halls.

chamber

late 14c., "to restrain," also "to furnish with a chamber" (inplied in chambered, from chamber (n.). Related: Chambering.

Medicine definitions for chamber

chamber

[ chām′bər ]

n.

A compartment or enclosed space.

chamber

noun

adjective

verb (used with object)

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Nearby words

Origin of chamber

Examples from the Web for chamber

chamber

noun

verb

Word Origin for chamber

chamber

chamber

chamber

n.