chamber

English Online Dictionary. What means chamber‎? What does chamber mean?

English

Alternative forms

• chambre (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle English chambre, borrowed from Old French chambre, from Latin camera, from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “vaulted chamber”). Doublet of camera.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /ˈtʃeɪmbə(ɹ)/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /ˈt͡ʃeɪmbɚ/
• Rhymes: -eɪmbə(ɹ)
• Hyphenation: cham‧ber

Noun

chamber (plural chambers)

1. A room or set of rooms, particularly:
   1. The private room of an individual, especially of someone wealthy or noble.
   2. A bedroom.
   3. The private office of a judge.
   4. The room used for deliberation by a legislature.
   5. (UK) A single law office in a building housing several.
   6. (dated, usually in the plural) Rooms in a lodging house.
2. (obsolete) Ellipsis of chamber pot: a container used for urination and defecation in one's chambers.
3. (figuratively) The legislature or division of the legislature itself.

4. Any enclosed space occupying or similar to a room.

5. (biology) An enlarged space in an underground tunnel of a burrowing animal.
6. (firearms) The area holding the ammunition round at the initiation of its discharge.

7. (firearms) One of the bullet-holding compartments in the cylinder of a revolver.
8. (historical) A short piece of ordnance or cannon which stood on its breech without any carriage, formerly used chiefly for celebrations and theatrical cannonades.
9. One of the two atria or two ventricles of the heart.

Synonyms

• (chamber pot): See Thesaurus:chamber pot

Derived terms

Translations

Verb

chamber (third-person singular simple present chambers, present participle chambering, simple past and past participle chambered)

1. (transitive) To enclose in a room.

2. To reside in or occupy a chamber or chambers.
3. (transitive) To place in a chamber, as a round of ammunition.

4. (transitive) To create or modify a gun to be a specific caliber.

5. (martial arts, transitive) To prepare an offensive, defensive, or counteroffensive action by drawing a limb or weapon to a position where it may be charged with kinetic energy.

6. (obsolete) To be lascivious.

   (The addition of quotations indicative of this usage is being sought:)

Synonyms

• (to be lascivious): blissom, lust; see also Thesaurus:harlotize

Anagrams

• becharm, chambre, chambré