choir
Americannoun
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choirs
plural
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a company of singers, especially an organized group employed in church service.
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any group of musicians or musical instruments; a musical company, or band, or a division of one.
string choir.
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Architecture.
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the part of a church occupied by the singers of the choir.
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the part of a cruciform church east of the crossing.
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(in medieval angelology) one of the orders of angels.
adjective
verb (used with or without object)
idioms
noun
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an organized group of singers, esp for singing in church services
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the part of a cathedral, abbey, or church in front of the altar, lined on both sides with benches, and used by the choir and clergy Compare chancel
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( as modifier )
choir stalls
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a number of instruments of the same family playing together
a brass choir
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Also called: choir organ. one of the manuals on an organ controlling a set of soft sweet-toned pipes Compare great swell
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any of the nine orders of angels in medieval angelology
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of choir
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English quer, from Old French cuer, from Latin chorus “choir,” replacing Old English chor, from Latin; see chorus
Explanation
A choir is group of singers, often gathered for church ceremonies. If you love to sing but don't fancy a solo turn on a TV talent show, perhaps joining a choir would satisfy you. Choir, pronounced QUIRE, comes from the Latin word chorus, which itself comes from the Greek name for a group of singers and dancers. We still use chorus for singing or dancing, but choir is exclusively for singing groups. Although choirs are traditionally associated with church services, they don't have to be. If you love singing but aren't religious, you could start a choir that sings about the glory of donuts. It's also a verb, as in, "I love to choir."
Vocabulary lists containing choir
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Ryan Murphy's series, which chronicled the highs and lows of choir members from Ohio, premiered on Fox in 2009 and ran for six seasons until 2015.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
This behavior was on display during his recent CBS town hall event, where he tucked away the bad insult comedy and put on his choir boy mask.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
“This is indeed the day the Lord has made,” Ms. Hochul said after an opening act from a local choir.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
At a municipal center, a choir of about a hundred faithful practices hymns for the ceremony.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
The singing was so strong, you’d have sworn a church choir had assembled in the living room.
From "Sir Fig Newton and the Science of Persistence" by Sonja Thomas
It’s student-athlete core, a mish-mash of choirs, electric guitar noises over pounding drums that all sound like keyboard presets.
From Salon ● Oct. 21, 2026
Two large choirs also joined the orchestra at the sessions in April, which took place at Alexandra Palace in north London.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Gospel choirs, country musicians, jazz ensembles, mariachi groups, Indigenous performers, military bands and local community orchestras share stages throughout the city.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
Una McCann is the director of one of the choirs involved, and wrote a song called 'Water is Life', that all the choirs sang simultaneously.
From BBC ● Apr. 19, 2026
To ask forgiveness, repeatedly, was what congregations were mosdy expected to do, all the while listening to choirs and priests singing at great length about the same sentiment.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
