chapel

American  

[chap-uhl] / ˈtʃæp əl /

noun

• chapels
  plural

1. a private or subordinate place of prayer or worship; oratory.

2. a separately dedicated part of a church, or a small independent churchlike edifice, devoted to special services.

3. a room or building for worship in an institution, palace, etc.

4. (in Great Britain) a place of worship for members of various dissenting Protestant churches, as Baptists or Methodists.

5. a separate place of public worship dependent on the church of a parish.

6. a religious service in a chapel.

   Don't be late for chapel!

7. a funeral home or the room in which funeral services are held.

8. a choir or orchestra of a chapel, court, etc.

9. a print shop or printing house.

10. an association of employees in a print shop for dealing with their interests, problems, etc.

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verb (used with object)

chapeled, chapeling, chapelled, chapelling

1. Nautical. to maneuver (a sailing vessel taken aback) by the helm alone until the wind can be recovered on the original tack.

adjective

1. (in England) belonging to any of various dissenting Protestant sects.

chapel British  

/ ˈtʃæpəl /

noun

1. a place of Christian worship in a larger building, esp a place set apart, with a separate altar, in a church or cathedral

2. a similar place of worship in or attached to a large house or institution, such as a college, hospital or prison

3. a church subordinate to a parish church

4. 1. a Nonconformist place of worship

   2. Nonconformist religious practices or doctrine

   3. ( as adjective ) Compare church

      he is chapel, but his wife is church

5. (in Scotland) a Roman Catholic church

6. the members of a trade union in a particular newspaper office, printing house, etc

7. a printing office

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• chapels
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chapel

1175–1225; Middle English chapele < Old French < Late Latin cappella hooded cloak, equivalent to capp ( a ) ( see cap ¹) + -ella diminutive suffix; first applied to the sanctuary where the cloak of St. Martin (4th-century bishop of Tours) was kept as a relic

Explanation

A chapel is a place of worship. It's usually smaller than a church, and it has its own altar. A chapel is a small place of worship. Chapels are Christian and are often part of a larger institution, such as a hospital or prison. Universities often have a chapel. A chapel is a place people pray and find community, or even get married. The song “Chapel of Love” was a big hit in the 1960’s. In it, The Dixie Cups sing, “going to the chapel and I’m gonna get married….”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chapel chapels chapelled

His faction eventually lost control of the chapel.

From Science Daily ● Sep. 7, 2026

Inside the Universalist Unitarian Church of Riverside, a line of masked people filed into the red-lighted chapel, one by one, to take part in the rite of confession.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 4, 2026

Guests stroll into blacksmith shops and corn mills, dine on cinnamon bread and other local delicacies, and seek quiet time in an authentic Appalachian chapel.

From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026

She also prayed in a 17th Century chapel that was positioned directly above the dungeons.

From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026

There are ten leaking cabins, one main building, a run-down open-air chapel, and very few resources or supplies.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

In Las Vegas, the Electric Daisy Carnival has two chapels for weddings.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026

Homes were demolished, chapels flattened and communities displaced in Port Talbot when Wales' first stretch of motorway was built at a cost of more than £5m.

From BBC ● Jul. 21, 2026

At the Jardines de Humaya cemetery, final resting place of many racketeers and their families, multi-story mausoleums feature balconies, air conditioning and ornate chapels.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2024

Many popes are buried in tombs in the grottos underneath St. Peter’s Basilica or in side chapels of the basilica itself, including all of Francis’ recent predecessors.

From Washington Times ● Dec. 13, 2023

Here, round the King's castle, there were streets—not just one street—and castles of dependent barons, and monasteries, chapels, churches, cathedrals, markets, merchants’ houses.

From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White

So, too, the chapelled choir, with its apse of rounded vaults rising in imposing tiers.

From The Cathedrals of Southern France by M. F. (Milburg Francisco) Mansfield

Related Words

• church
• sanctuary
• shrine