chanteuse

noun

chan·​teuse shan-ˈtüz  shäⁿ-ˈtərz 

-ˈtəz

plural chanteuses shan-ˈtüz 

-ˈtü-zəz, 

-ˈtərz, 

-ˈtəz, 

-ˈtər-zəz, 

-ˈtə-zəz

: songstress

especially : a woman who is a concert or nightclub singer

Examples of chanteuse in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Claudine Longet — chanteuse, alleged killer, and Gilmore Girls name-check — has died. —Bethy Squires, Vulture, 15 May 2026

But the French, bless 'em, have been driving that particular bandwagon for years, and Monroe fits snugly into their longstanding Eurovision tradition of la belle chanteuse with a little something extra in le tanque. —Glen Weldon, NPR, 14 May 2026

Claudine Longet, the French-American chanteuse whose first fame in music, on TV and as the wife of singing star Andy Williams was dwarfed by infamy after her fatal shooting of the Olympic skier Spider Sabich in 1976, has died. —Greg Evans, Deadline, 14 May 2026

Attendees of last year’s competition claimed that boos directed toward Israel’s chanteuse were drowned out by sound technicians. —Steven Blum, HollywoodReporter, 12 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French, from chanter "to sing" (going back to Old French) + -euse, feminine agent suffix, from feminine of -eux, adjective suffix, going back to Old French -eus, earlier -os, -ous, going back to Latin -ōsus -ose entry 1 — more at chant entry 1

Note: The feminine adjectival suffix -euse developed into an agent suffix in later Middle French, when, in line with the general loss of final consonants, the agent suffix -eur lost its consonant and became completely homonymous with the masculine adjectival suffix -eux; the two suffixes being identified, -euse came into use as a feminine complement to -eur. The restoration of final r in the suffix -eur has once again separated the suffixes.

First Known Use

1823, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for chanteuse

• abstruse
• abuse
• adduce
• atreus
• caboose
• cayuse
• conduce
• deduce
• diffuse
• disuse
• excuse
• footloose