chamber

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English[edit]

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Alternative forms[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French chambre, from Latin camera, from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, “vaulted chamber”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

chamber (plural chambers)

  1. A room, especially one used primarily for sleeping; bedroom, sleeping room.
    • 1845, Edgar Allen Poe, The Raven,
      Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary,
      Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore,
      While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping,
      As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door.
  2. An enclosed space.
    the chamber of a canal lock; the chamber of a furnace; the chamber of the eye
    A test chamber is typically a closable case where devices under test are placed.
  3. (firearms) The portion of the weapon that holds the ammunition round immediately prior to (and during initiation of) its discharge; each of the cylindrical compartments of a revolver that can hold a bullet
    Dianne loaded a cartridge into the chamber of the rifle, then prepared to take aim at the target.
  4. One of the legislative bodies in a government where multiple such bodies exist, or a single such body in comparison to others.
    The resolution, which speedily passed the Senate, was unable to gain a majority in the lower chamber.
  5. A law office in a building housing several such offices, typically the office of a barrister in the United Kingdom or in the imagination of an African scammer.
  6. (dated, in the plural) Apartments in a lodging house.
    • Thackeray
      a bachelor's life in chambers
  7. (obsolete) A chamber pot.
  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.

Translations[edit]

legislative body
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Derived terms[edit]

Related terms[edit]

Verb[edit]

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

  1. To enclose in a room.
    She had chambered herself in her room, and wouldn't come out.
  2. To reside in or occupy a chamber or chambers.
    • 1893, Publications of the Scottish History Society (volume 14, page 64)
      I chambered with Alexander Preston.
  3. To place in a chamber, as a round of ammunition.
    The hunter fired at the geese and missed, then shrugged his shoulders and chambered another cartridge.
  4. To create or modify a gun to be a specific caliber.
    The rifle was originally chambered for 9MM, but had since been modified for a larger, wildcat caliber.
  5. In martial arts, 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.
    Bob chambered his fist for a blow, but Sheila struck first.
  6. (obsolete) To be lascivious.

Anagrams[edit]

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