# chamber

Pronunciation: US say "CHAYM-bur" /ˈt͡ʃeɪmbɚ/; UK say "CHAYM-buh" /ˈtʃeɪmbə(ɹ)/

## Noun

1. An enclosed space that occupies or resembles a room.
   - Simple: An enclosed space that works like a room or takes the place of one.
   - _The explorers found a hidden chamber deep inside the mountain._
   - _Sealed chambers beneath the temple had stayed untouched for centuries._
2. The room in which a legislature meets to debate and vote.
   - Simple: The large room where a group of lawmakers meets to talk about and vote on new laws.
   - _The bill passed after a long debate on the chamber floor._
   - _Lawmakers filed into the chamber for the morning session._
3. Any one of the heart's four hollow parts, namely the two atria and the two ventricles.
   - Simple: One of the four hollow spaces inside the heart that fill with blood and push it out.
   - _An ultrasound showed that one chamber of the heart was enlarged._
   - _The upper chambers contract first, sending blood into the lower ones._
4. The part of a firearm that holds the round of ammunition at the moment it is fired.
   - Simple: The part of a gun that holds the bullet just before it is fired.
   - _The soldier cleared the chamber before handing over the weapon._
   - _Gas pressure inside the chamber drives the bullet down the barrel._
5. A judge's private office, kept separate from the public courtroom.
   - Simple: The private office where a judge works away from the courtroom.
   - _The attorneys met the judge in her chamber to discuss the schedule._
   - _He spent the afternoon in his chamber drafting the ruling._
6. A legislature, or one of the divisions into which it is split, regarded as a body of members rather than a place.
   - Simple: One of the parts a lawmaking body is split into, such as a group of senators or representatives.
   - _The lower chamber voted to approve the budget on Friday._
   - _Reforms stalled when the two chambers could not agree._
7. Any of the compartments in a revolver's cylinder, each holding a single round of ammunition.
   - Simple: One of the small holes in a revolver's spinning cylinder, each one holding a single bullet.
   - _He spun the cylinder and counted six chambers, all of them loaded._
   - _A single round remained in the last chamber._
8. A private room belonging to an individual, especially someone wealthy or of noble rank.
   - Simple: A private room belonging to one person, especially a rich or noble person.
   - _The duke retired to his chamber after the banquet._
   - _Her private chamber was hung with silk and lit by candles._
9. A room set aside for sleeping; a bedroom.
   - Simple: The room in a house where a person sleeps.
   - _He climbed the stairs to his chamber and fell asleep at once._
   - _A draft crept through the cold chamber all night._
15. A single lawyer's office within a building that houses several. *(UK)*
   - Simple: A lawyer's office in a building that holds many separate offices.
   - _The barrister's chambers looked out over the quiet square._
   - _She rented a small chamber close to the Inns of Court._
16. An enlarged space within the underground tunnel system of a burrowing animal.
   - Simple: A wider space in the underground tunnel of a digging animal.
   - _The mole had hollowed out a central chamber for its nest._
   - _Ants connect their food chambers with narrow passages._
18. A short piece of ordnance that stood upright on its breech without a carriage, used chiefly for celebrations and theatrical cannon fire.
   - Simple: A short cannon that stood on its base without wheels, once used for celebrations and stage gunfire.
   - _Crews set up rows of chambers on the ramparts for the festival salvo._
   - _A chamber was touched off backstage to suggest the roar of a far-off siege._

## Verb

10. To load a round of ammunition into the firing position of a firearm.
   - Simple: To load a bullet into the part of a gun that holds it just before firing.
   - _The marine chambered a fresh round as the order came._
   - _You must chamber a cartridge before the rifle will fire._
11. To make or alter a firearm so that it accepts a specific caliber of ammunition.
   - Simple: To make or change a gun so it fires one certain size of bullet.
   - _The smith chambered the action for a popular hunting cartridge._
   - _Custom builders chamber the same receiver for several different calibers._
12. To enclose someone or something within a room.
   - Simple: To shut a person or thing inside a room.
   - _The keepers chambered the new animal until it grew calm._
   - _Wardens chamber the most dangerous inmates apart from the others._
13. To draw a limb or weapon back to a position from which it can be launched with force.
   - Simple: To pull back an arm, leg, or weapon, ready to strike with force.
   - _He chambered his elbow tight before driving it into the pad._
   - _Sprinters chamber the lead knee high to power the next stride._
14. To live in or occupy a room or set of rooms.
   - Simple: To live in or use a room or set of rooms.
   - _Two clerks chamber on the upper floor of the inn._
   - _She chambered near the courthouse during the long trial._

## Noun

17. Rooms rented in a lodging house and let to tenants as living quarters. *(dated)*
   - Simple: Rented rooms in a house where people lodge.
   - _The young man's chambers stood above a busy bookseller's shop._
   - _He moved into a plain chamber at the back of the lodging house._
19. Ellipsis of chamber pot, now obsolete. *(obsolete)* — Ellipsis of chamber pot (“a container used for urination and defecation in one's chambers”).
   - Simple: Short form of chamber pot. An old word for a pot once kept in bedrooms and used as a toilet at night.
   - _She slid the chamber from under the bedstead and carried it down at dawn._
   - _A cracked chamber stood in the corner, hastily covered when guests arrived._

## Verb

20. To behave lasciviously; to indulge in lewd or wanton conduct. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: To behave in a lustful, shameless way.

## Origin

The word comes from Middle English chambre, borrowed from Old French chambre, from Latin camera, which itself derives from Ancient Greek καμάρα (kamára, "vaulted chamber"). It is a doublet of camera.

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/chamber (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).