Meaning & use
chant
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Meanings
nouncountable
A short phrase or slogan shouted or sung over and over, usually by a crowd.
Grammar: Countable: a chant, several chants.
Patterns
- a chant of something
- start a chant
A chant of 'Let us in!' rose from the crowd outside the gates.
Fans began a chant for their favorite player.
The marchers' chant echoed down the street.
nouncountable or uncountablemusicreligion
A simple, solemn melody on one or a few notes, used especially in religious worship.
Grammar: Countable for a piece (a Gregorian chant) and uncountable for the style (the sound of chant).
Patterns
- a Gregorian chant
- the chant of the monks
The monks sang an ancient chant at dawn.
A low chant drifted from the temple.
She studies medieval chant at music college.
verbtransitive or intransitive
To say or sing words again and again in a steady rhythm, usually together with others.
Grammar: Can take an object (chant slogans) or stand alone (the crowd chanted).
Patterns
- chant something
- chant for something
- chant against something
Protesters chanted outside the city hall all afternoon.
The children chanted the times tables in unison.
Fans chanted the team's name until the final whistle.
Word forms
| third person singular | chants |
|---|---|
| past tense | chanted |
| past participle | chanted |
| -ing form | chanting |
| plural | chants |
Common combinations
- Gregorian chant
- The choir recorded an album of Gregorian chant.
- football chant
- The football chant could be heard from the next street.
- chant slogans
- Students chanted slogans as they marched to the square.
- chant in unison
- The class chanted in unison after the teacher.
- take up the chant
- Soon the whole stadium took up the chant.
- a rhythmic chant
- A rhythmic chant rose from the drummers.
Synonyms and how they differ
- slogan
- A slogan is a catchy phrase for a cause or product that may be printed or spoken, while a chant is specifically repeated aloud.
- shout
- Shout means to call out loudly once or in any manner, whereas chant implies the same words repeated in rhythm.
- intone
- Intone means to speak in a level, singing tone, and is more formal and often solemn.
- recite
- Recite means to say learned words aloud without necessarily any rhythm or group.
Word family
Commonly confused: chant or chance?
chant vs chance
Chance is luck or opportunity and sounds similar, but it has no connection with rhythmic repetition.
Practice
As the singer walked on stage, the crowd began to ______ her name over and over in a steady rhythm.
Choose one answer.
Chant fits a crowd repeating a name rhythmically. Whisper and mutter do not suit a loud crowd, and cheer up is a different phrasal verb.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chant”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.