chant

[ chant, chahnt ]
See synonyms for chant on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a short, simple melody, especially one characterized by single notes to which an indefinite number of syllables are intoned, used in singing psalms, canticles, etc., in church services.

  2. a psalm, canticle, or the like, chanted or for chanting.

  1. the singing or intoning of all or portions of a liturgical service.

  2. any monotonous song.

  3. a song; singing: the chant of a bird.

  4. a monotonous intonation of the voice in speaking.

  5. a phrase, slogan, or the like, repeated rhythmically and insistently, as by a crowd.

verb (used with object)
  1. to sing to a chant, or in the manner of a chant, especially in a church service.

  2. to sing.

  1. to celebrate in song.

  2. to repeat (a phrase, slogan, etc.) rhythmically and insistently.

verb (used without object)
  1. to sing.

  2. to utter a chant.

Origin of chant

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; (verb) Middle English chanten, from Middle French chanter, from Latin cantāre, frequentative of canere “to sing”; (noun) from French chant, from Latin cantus; see canto
  • Also Obsolete, chaunt [chawnt, chahnt] /tʃɔnt, tʃɑnt/ .

Other words from chant

  • chant·a·ble, adjective
  • chant·ing·ly, adverb
  • half-chanted, adjective
  • un·chant·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use chant in a sentence

  • At the end, amidst torches and incense and solemn chanting, the Host is exhibited for the adoration of the crowd.

    Belgium | George W. T. (George William Thomson) Omond
  • Then the chanting clerics sang again, and advanced more boldly.

    God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
  • The chanting must have been much like the sing-song that some people fall into when reading verses now.

    English: Composition and Literature | W. F. (William Franklin) Webster
  • They followed gayly after their leader, talking, and laughing and chanting their war songs.

    Three Sioux Scouts | Elmer Russell Gregor
  • Outside was a rude altar made of stones from the river-bed, where a Lama was burning incense and chanting prayers.

    Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921 | Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury

British Dictionary definitions for chant

chant

/ (tʃɑːnt) /


noun
  1. a simple song or melody

  2. a short simple melody in which several words or syllables are assigned to one note, as in the recitation of psalms

  1. a psalm or canticle performed by using such a melody

  2. a rhythmic or repetitious slogan, usually spoken or sung, as by sports supporters, etc

  3. monotonous or singsong intonation in speech

verb
  1. to sing or recite (a psalm, prayer, etc) as a chant

  2. to intone (a slogan) rhythmically or repetitiously

  1. to speak or say monotonously as if intoning a chant

Origin of chant

1
C14: from Old French chanter to sing, from Latin cantāre, frequentative of canere to sing

Derived forms of chant

  • chanting, noun, adjective
  • chantingly, adverb

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012