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

According to court records, the lawsuit was filed in Nashville's chancery court on 16 November.

From BBC ● Nov. 23, 2023

In May, a chancery court judge ruled that a group of more than 100 Covenant families could intervene in the case.

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 6, 2023

The chancery of the Saxon electorate, whose territory was exclusively Middle German, had to some extent, under the influence of the imperial chancery, allowed Upper German characteristics to influence its official language.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 11, Slice 7 "Geoponici" to "Germany" by Various

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

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

The flourished ruches also, as in the Frankish chanceries, were in vogue.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 8, Slice 5 "Dinard" to "Dodsworth" by Various