overwordExplorer
ENGLISH · A WORD WITH POSSIBILITIES

chore.

A task, especially a regularly needed task for the upkeep of a home or similar, such as housecleaning or preparing meals.

5 characters1 syllables approx.English language

Meaning & usage

noun/t͡ʃɔː/Received-Pronunciation/t͡ʃoɹ/General-American/t͡ʃo(ː)ɹ//t͡ʃoə/
  1. A task, especially a regularly needed task for the upkeep of a home or similar, such as housecleaning or preparing meals.

    Before we moved in together, my partner and I divided up the chores: he cooks and vacuums, and I do the dishes and laundry.
    The children were made to do their daily chores before being allowed to play games.
  2. A task that is difficult, unpleasant, or tediously routine.

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

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.

verb/t͡ʃɔː/Received-Pronunciation/t͡ʃoɹ/General-American/t͡ʃo(ː)ɹ//t͡ʃoə/
  1. To do chores.

    US · dated
Where this word comes from

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.

verb/t͡ʃɔː/Received-Pronunciation/t͡ʃɔɹ/General-American/t͡ʃo(ː)ɹ//t͡ʃoə/
  1. To steal.

    Scotland · dialectal
Where this word comes from

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

noun
  1. A choir or chorus.

    obsolete
FROM WORD TO NAME

Try it on your idea.

chore has 5 characters. Say it out loud, try it alongside a description of your project, and see whether its meaning fits what you want to create.

chore studiochore workshello, chore

These are naming prompts. Meanings and pronunciation can vary; existing brand and domain uses have not been checked.

Explore the name generator

A word with a source.

Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.

Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.