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.

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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

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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

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

In the declaration filed Wednesday in a Nashville chancery court, Hall also lamented the deterioration of his relationship with and trust in his musical partner of more than a half-century.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 29, 2023

He was the means of introducing several reforms in the practice of the court of chancery, though by so doing he essentially lessened his own emoluments.

From Sketches of Reforms and Reformers, of Great Britain and Ireland by Stanton, Henry B.

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

The appointment struck the world's chanceries as odd -- the Georgian was a provincial politician with no experience in world affairs -- and as an indication that Gorbachev intended to be his own Foreign Minister.

From Time Magazine Archive

One hope in Western chanceries is that the Libyans themselves eventually will tire of Gaddafi, "a nasty reality of our times," as one diplomat calls him.

From Time Magazine Archive

With equal fervor, they have been waging their own behind-the-scenes battle in diplomatic chanceries and ministries around the world in the name of moderation and the status quo.

From Time Magazine Archive

Hitherto there had been no "Albanian Question" to perplex the chanceries of Europe.

From Old Calabria by Douglas, Norman