Meaning & use
a choir
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountable
A group of people who sing together, usually performing as one group.
Grammar: Countable, so you can say a choir, two choirs; the article an is used when the group is mentioned for the first time.
Patterns
- sing in a choir
- join a choir
- a choir of + number
My sister sings in a choir that meets on Tuesday evenings.
A choir of about forty students performed at the graduation ceremony.
He joined a choir because he wanted to make friends and improve his voice.
nouncountablereligion
The part of a church where the singers sit, or the singers themselves in a religious service.
Grammar: Often used with the: the choir; in church writing it can also name the area of the building.
Patterns
- the choir
- in the choir
The choir sang a hymn while the congregation stood.
We sat near the choir so we could hear the voices clearly.
nouncountable
A group of singers and dancers who perform together in a musical show or opera.
Grammar: Countable and often used with a singular verb when the group acts as one unit.
Patterns
- the chorus in a musical
- a choir on stage
The choir in the musical wore bright costumes and moved together.
She was in the choir for the school production of the show.
Word forms
| plural | choirs |
|---|
Common combinations
- sing in a choir
- He has sung in a choir since he was ten years old.
- join a choir
- I decided to join a choir after hearing them at the festival.
- choir practice
- Choir practice is at seven, so don't be late.
- church choir
- The church choir sang beautifully on Sunday morning.
- choir director
- The choir director asked us to breathe more quietly.
Synonyms and how they differ
- chorus
- Usually a larger group in a show or a repeated part of a song, while choir more often means a singing group, especially in a church or school.
- ensemble
- A broader word for any small group of performers; a choir is specifically a group that sings.
- chorale
- A choir that sings religious music, or the music itself; it is narrower and more formal than choir.
Word family
- choral adjective
- Relating to a choir or music sung by a group.
- choirboy noun
- A boy who sings in a choir, especially a church choir.
- choirgirl noun
- A girl who sings in a choir.
- choirmaster noun
- A person who leads and trains a choir.
Commonly confused: a choir or quire? a choir or chorus?
a choir vs quire
Quire is an old word for a set of folded pages or a measure of paper, and it sounds the same as choir; in modern English you almost always want choir for singing.
a choir vs chorus
Chorus can mean a group of singers, but it also means the repeated part of a song, so use choir when you mean the singing group itself.
Practice
Which sentence uses "choir" correctly?
Choose one answer.
"In a choir" is the standard phrase for being a member of a singing group. "On a choir" and "to a choir" are not used this way, and "a choir of her church" sounds unnatural because of normally introduces the members, as in "a choir of forty singers."
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “a choir”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.