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View synonyms for chorus

chorus

[ kawr-uhs, kohr- ]

noun

, plural cho·rus·es.
  1. Music.
    1. a group of persons singing in unison.
    2. (in an opera, oratorio, etc.) such a group singing choral parts in connection with soloists or individual singers.
    3. a piece of music for singing in unison.
    4. a part of a song that recurs at intervals, usually following each verse; refrain.
  2. simultaneous utterance in singing, speaking, shouting, etc.
  3. the sounds so uttered:

    a chorus of jeers.

  4. (in a musical show)
    1. a company of dancers and singers.
    2. the singing, dancing, or songs performed by such a company.
  5. (in ancient Greece)
    1. a lyric poem, believed to have been in dithyrambic form, that was sung and danced to, originally as a religious rite, by a company of persons.
    2. an ode or series of odes sung by a group of actors in ancient Greek drama.
    3. the group of actors that performed the chorus and served as major participants in, commentators on, or as a supplement to the main action of the drama.
  6. Theater.
    1. a group of actors or a single actor having a function similar to that of the Greek chorus, as in Elizabethan drama.
    2. the part of a play performed by such a group or individual.


verb (used with or without object)

, cho·rused, cho·rus·ing.
  1. to sing or speak in chorus.

chorus

/ ˈkɔːrəs /

noun

  1. a large choir of singers or a piece of music composed for such a choir
  2. a body of singers or dancers who perform together, in contrast to principals or soloists
  3. a section of a song in which a soloist is joined by a group of singers, esp in a recurring refrain
  4. an intermediate section of a pop song, blues, etc, as distinct from the verse
  5. jazz any of a series of variations on a theme
  6. in ancient Greece
    1. a lyric poem sung by a group of dancers, originally as a religious rite
    2. an ode or series of odes sung by a group of actors
    1. (in classical Greek drama) the actors who sang the chorus and commented on the action of the play
    2. actors playing a similar role in any drama
    1. (esp in Elizabethan drama) the actor who spoke the prologue, etc
    2. the part of the play spoken by this actor
  7. a group of people or animals producing words or sounds simultaneously
  8. any speech, song, or other utterance produced by a group of people or animals simultaneously

    a chorus of sighs

    the dawn chorus

  9. in chorus
    in chorus in unison


verb

  1. to speak, sing, or utter (words, etc) in unison

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Word History and Origins

Origin of chorus1

1555–65; < Latin < Greek chorós a dance, band of dancers and singers

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Word History and Origins

Origin of chorus1

C16: from Latin, from Greek khoros

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Idioms and Phrases

Idioms
  1. in chorus, in unison; with all speaking or singing simultaneously:

    They responded in chorus to the minister's questions.

More idioms and phrases containing chorus

see in chorus .

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Example Sentences

It’s a constant chorus reminding us, as English poet John Donne once did, that islands aren’t as isolated as they appear.

In midsummer, when he was in fact handed the reins to the chorus, the state of the world had changed dramatically and consequently conducting had too, yet he remained equally enthused.

Last spring, celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson joined the chorus about the Overview Effect’s power for our planet.

From Ozy

As has been its chorus throughout its international guide rollout, Michelin maintains the awards will help elevate and support these dining scenes “amid the demanding landscape for hospitality businesses.”

From Eater

STAYC’s debut song, “So Bad,” has one of the catchiest choruses in recent memory.

From Time

The running machines are a gloomy chorus of heavy-footed stomping.

And then that chorus kicks in, and the young lady formerly known as Lizzy Grant transforms into the princess of darkness.

Another beautiful Eminor number, with a nice shift up to the major for the chorus.

As she finishes the thought, a chorus of voices rises around her.

As recently as Thursday, Rolling Stone was still defending the story against a growing chorus of critics.

Once—twice, the chorus of that old English Royalist song rose up out of the grove.

A chorus of haw haws, showed how delighted his fellow-clowns were with farmer Joe's story.

The solo voice of the Nubian sailor was lost in the chorus of voices which came floating over the Nile.

Politics were largely at the bottom of it all, I am sure, and certain newspapers joined in the noisy chorus.

Before a long table at one end of the room is the crowd of American students singing in a chorus.

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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