Choir Meaning
/kwaɪə(ɹ)/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA group of people who sing together; a company of people who are trained to sing together.
nounOne quarter of a cruciform church, or the architectural area of a church, generally used by the choir; often near the apse.
Sentence Examples
She has been invited to sing in a choir in a foreign country.
He assigned the kazoo parts to a large four-part men's choir.
She sings in the school choir.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Every Sunday the church ____ sings hymns during the service.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She joined the local church ____ and sings every Sunday morning.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus, from Ancient Greek χορός (khorós, “company of dancers or singers”). Modern spelling influenced by chorus and French chœur. Doublet of quire, chorus, and hora.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Then everybody once more knelt, and soon the blessing was pronounced. The choir and the clergy trooped out slowly, […], down the nave to the western door. […] At a seemingly immense distance the surpliced group stopped to say the last prayer."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
"Army choirs and troupes perform at some of North Korea's biggest state events."
— 2020 April 24, Oscar Holland, “How North Korea’s ideology is built on song and dance”, in CNN:
"Public health officials studying the Covid-19 outbreak among members of a Washington choir found numerous ways the virus could have spread, according to a report published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."
— 2020 May 13, David Williams, “How coronavirus spread from one member to 87% of the singers at a Washington choir practice”, in CNN:
"Here, in the transept and choir, where the service was being held, one was conscious every moment of an increasing brightness; colours glowing vividly beneath the circular chandeliers, and the rows of small lights on the choristers' desks flashed and sparkled in front of the boys' faces, deep linen collars, and red neckbands."
— 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter V, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
"The great aim of this book is to secure congregational singing, which the churches must come to, at last, after a long interval of choiring."
— 1859, The Presbyterian Magazine, volume 9, page 423:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Every Sunday the church ____ sings hymns during the service.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
She joined the local church ____ and sings every Sunday morning.