chore

From earlier char, from Middle English charr, charre, cherre (“odd job, turn, occasion, business”), from Old English ċerr, ċierr (“a turn”), from ċierran (“to turn”), from Proto-Germanic *karzijaną (“to turn”), from Proto-Indo-European *gers- (“to bend, turn”).

Cognate with Dutch keer (“time; turn; occasion”), German Kehre (“a turn; bend; wind; back-flip; u-turn”). Also related to Saterland Frisian kiere, käire (“to turn”), Old Saxon kērian, Old High German chēran (“to turn”) (German kehren (“to turn”), Dutch keren (“to turn”)). See also char.

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: chô, IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɔː/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

• (General American) enPR: chôr, IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɔɹ/
• (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) enPR: chōr, IPA^(key): /t͡ʃo(ː)ɹ/
• (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃoə/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)

chore (plural chores)

1. A task, especially a difficult, unpleasant, or routine one.

   Washing dishes is a chore, but we cannot just stop eating.

   The children were made to do their daily chores before being allowed to play games.

   I used to enjoy being self-employed, but it's become a bit of a chore recently.

   • 1978, Richard Nixon, RN: the Memoirs of Richard Nixon‎, Grosset & Dunlap, →ISBN, →LCCN, →OCLC, →OL, page 418:

     Shorty after his nomination as Chief Justice was announced, it came to light that while on the Court, Fortas, a close friend of Johnson's, had performed a number of personal and political chores for him. This was a clear violation of the principle of separation of powers.

• choreful
• choreless
• chorelike
• choresome
• chore wheel

• char

chore (third-person singular simple present chores, present participle choring, simple past and past participle chored)

1. (US, dated) To do chores.

• Douglas Harper (2001–2024) “chore”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

Possibly derived from Romani ćor (“thief”), see also Geordie word chor.

• chor (Geordie)

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: chô, IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɔː/
• (General American) enPR: chôr, IPA^(key): /t͡ʃɔɹ/
• (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) enPR: chōr, IPA^(key): /t͡ʃo(ː)ɹ/
• (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /t͡ʃoə/
• Rhymes: -ɔː(ɹ)

chore (third-person singular simple present chores, present participle choring, simple past and past participle chored)

1. (Scotland, dialect) To steal.

• steal (standard English)
• thieve (standard English)
• twoc (Geordie)

chore (plural chores)

1. (obsolete) A choir or chorus.
   • a. 1638 (date written), Benjamin Jonson [i.e., Ben Jonson], “Under-woods. Consisting of Divers Poems. (please specify the poem)”, in The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. The Second Volume. […] (Second Folio), London: […] Richard Meighen, published 1640, →OCLC:

     On every wall, and sung where e'er I walk. I number these, as being of the chore

• Roche, ocher, ochre, roche

chore

1. inflection of chorar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative
2. third-person singular present indicative of chorir

chore

1. vocative singular of chorus

chore

1. Superseded spelling of chóre.

• IPA^(key): /ˈxɔ.rɛ/
• Rhymes: -ɔrɛ
• Syllabification: cho‧re

chore

1. inflection of chory:
   1. neuter nominative/accusative/vocative singular
   2. nonvirile nominative/accusative/vocative plural

• Hyphenation: cho‧re

chore

1. inflection of chorar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative