choir
Americannoun
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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
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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Let's Go Caroling, List 3
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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.
“The personal journey to continue to discover things about Betye. I can open a ledger and it’s like, ‘Oh, I forgot she designed costumes for the Tuskegee Choir.’
From Los Angeles Times • May 7, 2026
He was getting set to open his production of “Cold War Choir Practice,” a new play by Ro Reddick that won the prestigious Susan Smith Blackburn Prize this year.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 8, 2026
Some of the most arresting work came from the Clarion Choir.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026
Now living around the UK and abroad, members of Highgate Gospel Choir, which formed in the late 70s, have got back together for an album and a finale performance on Saturday.
From BBC • Nov. 1, 2025
Sometimes when it was all dark and when it seemed that sleep had come at last, the diamond-true child voices of the Sistine Choir would come from the windows of the laboratory.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
Definitions 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.
