an official charged with the management of the living quarters of a sovereign or member of the nobility.
an official who receives rents and revenues, as of a municipal corporation; treasurer.
the high steward or factor of a member of the nobility.
a high official of a royal court.
(Arthur) Neville, 1869–1940, British statesman: prime minister 1937–40.
Joseph, 1836–1914, British statesman (father of Sir Austen and Neville Chamberlain).
Sir (Joseph) Austen, 1863–1937, British statesman: Nobel Peace Prize 1925.
Owen, 1920–2006, U.S. physicist: Nobel Prize 1959.
Wilt(on Norman) Wilt the Stilt, 1936–1999, U.S. basketball player.
Sir ( Joseph ) Austen. 1863–1937, British Conservative statesman; foreign secretary (1924–29); awarded a Nobel peace prize for his negotiation of the Locarno Pact (1925)
his father, Joseph. 1836–1914, British statesman; originally a Liberal, he resigned in 1886 over Home Rule for Ireland and became leader of the Liberal Unionists; a leading advocate of preferential trading agreements with members of the British Empire
his son, ( Arthur ) Neville. 1869–1940, British Conservative statesman; prime minister (1937–40): pursued a policy of appeasement towards Germany; following the German invasion of Poland, he declared war on Germany on Sept 3, 1939
Owen. 1920–2006, US physicist, who discovered the antiproton. Nobel prize for physics jointly with Emilio Segré 1959
an officer who manages the household of a king
the steward of a nobleman or landowner
the treasurer of a municipal corporation
1175–1225; Middle English < Old French, variant of chamberlenc < Frankish *kamerling, equivalent to kamer (< Latin camera room; see chamber) + -ling -ling 1
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After the death of a reigning pope, the person in charge of ordinary affairs at the Vatican until the election of a new pope is the camerlengo, or chamberlain.
From Reuters ● Dec. 30, 2022
This alienated his family members, who grew resentful of the power of Askia’s head chamberlain, Ali Fulan.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
So the king called in the lord high chamberlain, the royal wizard and the royal mathematician.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2021
During that period, known as the “sede vacante,” or “empty See,” the camerlengo, or chamberlain, runs the administration and finances of the Holy See.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 6, 2021
I will not step down to be the dotard chamberlain of an upstart.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
Chamberlain had 12 points and 19 rebounds in Game 1, a 114-92 Lakers loss, and 23 points and 24 rebounds in Game 2, a 106-92 Lakers victory.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Thrifted Wilt Chamberlain jacket fetches $89,600 at auction.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 21, 2026
One wishes it were closer to the scale of something by John Chamberlain or Viola Frey.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 10, 2026
Court documents say that Stanford offered the archive of emails to the authorities in Monaco and Luxembourg, and shared them with a number of people, including the Lord Chamberlain.
From BBC ● May 30, 2026
Chamberlain put down the paper, folded his arms.
From "The Killer Angels: The Classic Novel of the Civil War" by Michael Shaara
Rather than handing her children over to court chamberlains to raise, she cared for them herself.
From New York Times ● Oct. 24, 2021
The few other people in the room were members of the imperial family, court chamberlains, ladies-in-waiting, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, leaders of the two houses of Parliament and the chief justice of the Supreme Court.
From New York Times ● Oct. 21, 2019
This is a man in mid-thought, quick with watchful intelligence, on equal terms with the painter; indeed, they were both chamberlains at the Spanish court.
From The Guardian ● Jan. 3, 2016
At twelve he had been a stiff, lonely boy who lived in a big, cold house with no one except his retinue of chamberlains and servants to keep him company.
From Time Magazine Archive
They came with the usual escort of officers and chamberlains, smiling and bowing graciously to all of us.
From Letters of a Diplomat's Wife 1883-1900 by Waddington, Mary King
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.
