Chore

How to spell chore

5 letters · 1 syllable

How to pronounce chore

What does chore mean?

1. nounA routine, often tedious task, especially one done regularly around the house.

Chore in a sentence

• Washing the dishes is the one chore he always forgets.

• The children split each weekend chore between them to earn pocket money.

Where does chore come from?

Language of origin: Germanic

Chore is an American spelling of the older British word 'char', which goes back to the Old English 'cierr' or 'cerr', meaning a turn, a bend, or a piece of work that comes round in its turn. In Middle English 'char' or 'chare' meant a single occasion of work or a small domestic task, and it survives in the word 'charwoman', a woman hired by the hour for housework. When the word travelled to America, settlers reshaped the spelling to 'chore' to match the way it sounded, and that form gradually became the standard everywhere for routine household jobs. The original sense of something returning 'in its turn' fits the modern meaning well, since chores are exactly the repetitive tasks that keep coming back. The 'ch' opening and the silent 'e' at the end are the only real spelling points to watch.

How the word is built

• chore (from char/chare: a turn of work, a small task)