Etymology : Middle English chambre, from Old French, from Late Latin camera, from Latin, arched roof, from Greek kamara vault
Pronunciation : 'chAm-b&r
Function : noun
Date : 13th century
1. room (particularly a bedroom); office; meeting room; legislature; compartment. place in a chamber; assign a room to. chamber\cham"ber\ , v. i. [imp. & p. p. chambered ; p. pr. & vb. n. chambering.].
2. to reside in or occupy a chamber or chambers.
3. to be lascivious. [obs.]chamber \cham"ber\, v. t.
4. to shut up, as in a chamber.
5. to furnish with a chamber; as, to chamber a gun.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.].
6. a retired room, esp. an upper room used for sleeping; a bedroom; as, the house had four chambers.
7. pl. apartments in a lodging house. "a bachelor's life in chambers.".
8. a hall, as where a king gives audience, or a deliberative body or assembly meets; as, presence chamber; senate chamber.
9. a legislative or judicial body; an assembly; a society or association; as, the chamber of deputies; the chamber of commerce.
10. 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.
11. 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.
12. a chamber pot. [colloq.].
13. (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.
14. A retired room, esp. an upper room used for sleeping; a bedroom; as, the house had four chambers.
15. Apartments in a lodging house.
16. A hall, as where a king gives audience, or a deliberative body or assembly meets; as, presence chamber; senate chamber.
17. A legislative or judicial body; an assembly; a society or association; as, the Chamber of Deputies; the Chamber of Commerce.
18. 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.
19. 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.
20. A chamber pot.
21. 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.
22. A cavity in a mine, usually of a cubical form, to contain the powder.
23. A short piece of ordnance or cannon, which stood on its breech, without any carriage, formerly used chiefly for rejoicings and theatrical cannonades.
24. To reside in or occupy a chamber or chambers.
25. To be lascivious.
26. To shut up, as in a chamber.
27. To furnish with a chamber; as, to chamber a gun. a natural or artificial enclosed space a room where a judge transacts business an enclosed volume a deliberative or legislative or administrative or judicial assembly; "the upper chamber is the senate" place in a chamber.
28. 1. A chamber is a large room, especially one that is used for formal meetings. We are going to make sure we are in the council chamber every time he speaks.
29. You can refer to a country's parliament or to one section of it as a chamber. More than 80 parties are contesting seats in the two-chamber parliament Signor Amato's government has only a 16-seat majority in the Chamber of Deputies. = house.
30. A chamber is a room designed and equipped for a particular purpose. For many, the dentist's surgery remains a torture chamber. see also:
gas chamber. bubble chamber chamber music chamber of commerce cloud chamber Star Chamber hyperbaric chamber recompression chamber decompression chamber.