chancery

American  

[chan-suh-ree] / ˈtʃæn sə ri /

noun

• chanceries
  plural

1. the office or department of a chancellor; chancellery.

2. an office of public records, especially those of the Lord Chancellor in England.

3. (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice.

4. Law.

   1. Also called court of chancery. a court having jurisdiction in equity; court of equity.

   2. equity.

5. the administrative office of a diocese.

6. Roman Catholic Church. a department of the Curia Romana now having the responsibility for issuing bulls to establish new dioceses, benefices, etc.

---

idioms

1. in chancery,

   1. Law. in litigation in a court of chancery.

   2. Wrestling, Boxing. (of a contestant's head) held under an opponent's arm.

   3. in a helpless or embarrassing position.

chancery British  

/ ˈtʃɑːnsərɪ /

noun

1. Also called: Chancery Division. (in England) the Lord Chancellor's court, now a division of the High Court of Justice

2. Also called: court of chancery. (in the US) a court of equity

3. the political section or offices of an embassy or legation

4. another name for chancellery

5. a court of public records; archives

6. Christianity a diocesan office under the supervision of a bishop's chancellor, having custody of archives, issuing official enactments, etc

7. 1. law (of a suit) pending in a court of equity

   2. wrestling boxing (of a competitor's head) locked under an opponent's arm

   3. in an awkward or helpless situation

---

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chanceries
  plural

---

Etymology

Origin of chancery

1325–75; Middle English chancerie, variant of chancelrie, syncopated variant of chancellerie chancellery

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chancery chanceries

Brahmbhatt first approached HPS in 2020 seeking to refinance that loan, according to an HPS suit filed in Delaware chancery court last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

The question isn’t whether chancery courts in 1789 issued nationwide injunctions.

From Slate ● Jun. 27, 2025

The finished roll, which travelled in a big covering of unhistoric looking bubble wrap, was carefully signed by the clerk of the crown in chancery, Antonia Romeo.

From BBC ● May 2, 2024

Associated costs, including the design and construction of the new chancery and furnishing it, will bring the total to $688.8 million, according to a notice sent to Congress.

From Seattle Times ● Dec. 12, 2023

Besides being a chancery lawyer, he was more particularly a philosopher, conspicuous for his knowledge of Hegelian metaphysics.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 12, Slice 7 "Gyantse" to "Hallel" by Various

This new external impulse to reshape the Middle East originates not in grand chanceries but in nongovernmental movements.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

In the years since, multiple other dioceses have sold or said they intended to sell their chanceries, including Brooklyn; Charleston, S.C.;

From New York Times ● Mar. 15, 2014

Through Nanking's chanceries swept a rumor that the U.S. and Russian embassies would be asked to step in as joint mediators.

From Time Magazine Archive

Until recently, the success of Brandt's flexible policy of accord with the Soviet bloc was virtually taken for granted in the chanceries of Europe.

From Time Magazine Archive

It owes little—at all events in Europe—to governments and chanceries, although these recognise its value and give it their countenance.

From South America and the War by F. A. (Frederick Alexander) Kirkpatrick

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---