chowder
Americannoun
-
chowders
plural
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of chowder
1735–45, < French chaudière pot, kettle < Late Latin caldāria cauldron
Explanation
Chowder is a thick, chunky soup that often contains fish or shellfish. New England is well known for its creamy, rich version of clam chowder. Chowder is somewhere between a soup and a stew — it's full of chunks of potato and onions, thick with bacon, fish, or vegetables, and sometimes eaten with crackers on the side or crumbled on top. Chowder is one of many words that distinctly originated in America, and it was included in the first edition of Noah Webster's dictionary of American English. Chowder comes from the pot in which it's cooked, chaudière, French for "a pot."
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:
"This is why we eat clam chowder and we don't eat brachiopod chowder," Sperling said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 12, 2026
The base was rich, but it lacked the kind of body that makes a chowder feel finished: the subtle thickness, the quiet cohesion.
From Salon ● Apr. 16, 2026
Anyone beyond the land of candlepin bowling and cringing at red clam chowder thought they had a better shot at finishing at the bottom of the standings than reaching the Super Bowl.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 26, 2026
A serving of a Boston-centric alternative, canned clam chowder, would bump the meal up to $3.64.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 16, 2026
I’ll always remember what was in that first can—clam chowder, delicious.
From "Mrs. Frisby and the Rats of NIMH" by Robert C. O'Brien
A taste of New England in West Hollywood, it quickly became known for fried clams and chowders harkening to Cimarusti’s Rhode Island childhood and plump lobster rolls filled with never-frozen lobster.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 23, 2026
Restaurants and home cooks are filling hollowed-out, crusty round vessels with hot stews and chowders.
From Washington Times ● Nov. 15, 2023
Popular local sports bar Lost Roo serves chowders, salad, burgers and fish within a sunny building.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 13, 2022
New Yorkers of all social classes could enjoy them, whether raw, roasted, pickled, fried, or in chowders, sauces and stews.
From New York Times ● Dec. 10, 2021
The Germans have a greater variety of soups, including chowders, broths and bouillons, than any other nation of Europe.
From Suppers Novel Suggestions for Social Occasions by Paul Pierce
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