- [countable + singular or plural verb] a group of people who sing together, for example in church services or public performances
- She sings in the school choir.
- He joined the church choir when he was eight.
- to conduct/lead/direct a choir
- a male voice choir
- The children's choir will perform some Christmas songs.
- The choir regularly sings/sing at weddings.
Collocations MusicMusicListening- listen to/enjoy/love/be into music/classical music/jazz/pop/hip-hop, etc.
- listen to the radio/an MP3 player/a CD
- put on/play a CD/a song/some music
- turn down/up the music/radio/volume/bass
- go to a concert/festival/gig/performance/recital
- copy/burn/rip music/a CD/a DVD
- download/stream music/an album/a song/a video/a playlist
- play a musical instrument/the piano/percussion/a note/a riff/the melody/a concerto/a duet/by ear
- sing an anthem/a ballad/a solo/an aria/the blues/in a choir/soprano/alto/tenor/bass/out of tune
- hum a tune/a theme tune/a lullaby
- accompany a singer/choir
- strum a chord/guitar
- form/start/get together/join/quit/leave a band
- give a performance/concert/recital
- do a concert/recital/gig
- play a concert/gig/festival/venue
- perform (British English) at/in a concert/(especially North American English) a concert
- appear at a festival/live
- go on/embark on a (world) tour
- write/compose music/a ballad/a melody/a tune/a song/a theme song/an opera/a symphony
- land/get/sign a record deal
- be signed to/be dropped by a record company
- record/release/put out an album/a single/a CD
- be top of/top the charts
- get to/go straight to/go straight in at/enter the charts at number one
Extra ExamplesTopics Musicb2- She sings in the church choir.
- a massed choir of local schoolchildren
- two of the girls in the choir
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- massed
- 50-strong
- etc.
- …
- be in
- sing in
- join
- …
- perform
- sing
- practice
- director
- member
- …
- in a/the choir
- be preaching to the choir
- [countable] the part of a church where the choir sits during servicesTopics Buildingsc2
Word OriginMiddle English quer, quere, from Old French quer, from Latin chorus (denoting a character speaking the prologue of a play), from Greek khoros. The spelling change in the 17th cent. was due to association with Latin chorus and modern French choeur.
Idioms
See choir in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionarypreach to the choir (especially North American English)
(also preach to the converted British and North American English)
- to speak to people in support of views that they already hold
- I realize I may be preaching to the choir, but I think he's gorgeous.
Check pronunciation:
choir