chore
noun
a small or odd job; routine task.
chore
1
British
/ tʃɔː /
noun
-
a small routine task, esp a domestic one
-
an unpleasant task
-chore
2
British
combining form
Synonym Usage
See task.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chore
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English char, Old English cyrr, variant of cierr, cerr. See char 3
Explanation
A chore is a duty or task you’re obligated to perform, often one that is unpleasant but necessary. Washing the dishes is a chore, and so is completing a homework assignment you aren’t excited about. Sometimes a thing that you wanted to do can become a chore if it ceases to be fun or interesting. Maybe Napoleon felt that conquering nations had become a chore by the time he was defeated in the Battle of Waterloo. The noun chore dates from the 18th century, when there were fewer appliances and more household tasks that needed to be done.
Vocabulary lists containing chore
A Single Shard
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Elijah of Buxton
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Sula
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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:
On paper, it makes sense: Self-care feels like such a chore, why not make it fun?
From Slate ● Sep. 6, 2026
It makes going to work a joy, not a chore.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 17, 2026
Nor does Palantir need to sell chore coats and tennis skirts to meet its bottom line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Not only can cooking in hot weather feel like a chore, but many of us find ourselves feeling less hungry altogether.
From BBC ● Jul. 8, 2026
To Father, peeling potatoes is not a chore, but precision work.
From "The Diary of a Young Girl" by Anne Frank
While almost as many women work as men, they spend nearly an hour longer each day doing unpaid work such as chores or caring responsibilities, the Office for National Statistics says.
From BBC ● Oct. 8, 2026
None of the chores that Meta boasts about are beyond the capabilities of most people living in today’s digital world.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026
Still, there’s clearly a lot of resentment among some Christian conservative women about husbands who don’t do chores.
From Salon ● Sep. 28, 2026
The machine can only do those chores if big companies let it into their houses.
From Slate ● Sep. 23, 2026
Here in the hold, everyone in the Collective is just as busy with mundane chores as they are above.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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.
