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cham·ber       (chām'bər)  Pronunciation Key  n.   A room in a house, especially a bedroom. A room where a person of authority, rank, or importance receives visitors. chambers A room in which a judge may consult privately with attorneys or hear cases not taken into court. chambers Chiefly British A suite of rooms, especially one used by lawyers. A hall for the meetings of a legislative or other assembly. A legislative or judicial body. A board or council. A place where municipal or state funds are received and held; a treasury. An enclosed space or compartment: the chamber of a pump; a compression chamber. An enclosed space in the body of an organism; a cavity: the four chambers of the heart. A compartment in a firearm, as in the breech of a rifle or the cylinder of a revolver, that holds the cartridge in readiness for firing. An enclosed space in the bore of a gun that holds the charge. A compartment in a firearm, as in the breech of a rifle or the cylinder of a revolver, that holds the cartridge in readiness for firing. An enclosed space in the bore of a gun that holds the charge. tr.v.   cham·bered, cham·ber·ing, cham·bers To put in or as if in a chamber; enclose or confine. To furnish with a chamber. To design or manufacture (a firearm) to hold a specific type of cartridge. [Middle English chaumbre, from Old French chambre, from Late Latin camera, chamber, from Latin, vault, from Greek kamarā.]

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
chamber 

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

chamber
noun
1.	a natural or artificial enclosed space
2.	an enclosed volume in the body; "the chambers of his heart were healthy"
3.	a room where a judge transacts business
4.	a deliberative or legislative or administrative or judicial assembly; "the upper chamber is the senate"
5.	a room used primarily for sleeping [syn: bedroom]
verb
1.	place in a chamber

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Chamber

Cam"ber\, n. [Of. cambre bent, curved; akin to F. cambrer to vault, to bend, fr. L. camerare to arch over, fr. camera vault, arch. See Chamber, and cf. Camerate.]

1. (Shipbuilding) An upward convexity of a deck or other surface; as, she has a high camber (said of a vessel having an unusual convexity of deck).

2. (Arch.) An upward concavity in the under side of a beam, girder, or lintel; also, a slight upward concavity in a straight arch. See Hogback.

Camber arch (Arch.), an arch whose intrados, though apparently straight, has a slightly concave curve upward.

Camber beam (Arch.), a beam whose under side has a concave curve upward.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Chamber

Cam"e*ra\, n.; pl. E. Cameras, L. Camerae. [L. vault, arch, LL., chamber. See Chamber.] A chamber, or instrument having a chamber. Specifically: The camera obscura when used in photography. See Camera, and Camera obscura.

Bellows camera. See under Bellows.

In camera (Law), in a judge's chamber, that is, privately; as, a judge hears testimony which is not fit for the open court in camera.

Panoramic, or Pantascopic, camera, a photographic camera in which the lens and sensitized plate revolve so as to expose adjacent parts of the plate successively to the light, which reaches it through a narrow vertical slit; -- used in photographing broad landscapes. --Abney.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Chamber

Cham"ber\, n. [F. chambre, fr. L. camera vault, arched roof, in LL. chamber, fr. Gr. ? anything with a vaulted roof or arched covering; cf. Skr. kmar to be crooked. Cf. Camber, Camera, Comrade.]

1. A retired room, esp. an upper room used for sleeping; a bedroom; as, the house had four chambers.

2. pl. Apartments in a lodging house. "A bachelor's life in chambers." --Thackeray.

3. A hall, as where a king gives audience, or a deliberative body or assembly meets; as, presence chamber; senate chamber.

4. A legislative or judicial body; an assembly; a society or association; as, the Chamber of Deputies; the Chamber of Commerce.

5. A compartment or cell; an inclosed space or cavity; as, the chamber of a canal lock; the chamber of a furnace; the chamber of the eye.

6. pl. (Law.) A room or rooms where a lawyer transacts business; a room or rooms where a judge transacts such official business as may be done out of court.

7. A chamber pot. [Colloq.]

8. (Mil.) (a) That part of the bore of a piece of ordnance which holds the charge, esp. when of different diameter from the rest of the bore; -- formerly, in guns, made smaller than the bore, but now larger, esp. in breech-loading guns. (b) A cavity in a mine, usually of a cubical form, to contain the powder. (c) A short piece of ordnance or cannon, which stood on its breech, without any carriage, formerly used chiefly for rejoicings and theatrical cannonades.

Air chamber. See Air chamber, in the Vocabulary.

Chamber of commerce, a board or association to protect the interests of commerce, chosen from among the merchants and traders of a city.

Chamber council, a secret council. --Shak.

Chamber counsel or counselor, a counselor who gives his opinion in private, or at his chambers, but does not advocate causes in court.

Chamber fellow, a chamber companion; a roommate; a chum.

Chamber hangings, tapestry or hangings for a chamber.

Chamber lye, urine. --Shak.

Chamber music, vocal or instrumental music adapted to performance in a chamber or small apartment or audience room, instead of a theater, concert hall, or church.

Chamber practice (Law.), the practice of counselors at law, who give their opinions in private, but do not appear in court.

To sit at chambers, to do business in chambers, as a judge.