chapter

noun

chap·​ter ˈchap-tər 

1

a

: a main division of a book

b

: something resembling a chapter in being a significant specified unit

a new chapter in my life

2

a

: a regular meeting of the canons of a cathedral or collegiate church or of the members of a religious house

b

: the body of canons of a cathedral or collegiate church

3

: a local branch of an organization

Synonyms of chapter

• affiliate
• cell

Examples of chapter in a Sentence

Chapter three deals with the country's economy.

Please read the first two chapters of your textbook for our next class.

Becoming a parent opened up a whole new chapter in my life.

a difficult chapter in European history

Recent Examples on the Web

The working group of administrators and Greek life representatives created action plans for each chapter to resume operations in fall 2018 based on a blind review of their previous four years. — Brittany Shammas, CNN Money, 17 Oct. 2026

Seeing a few chapters out of context is not going to deliver the same thrill as cracking open the new book and reading as the author intended. — Anna Moeslein, Glamour, 17 Oct. 2026

Trump posted a video Thursday night that directly called El-Sayed a member of the group, which was founded in Egypt; his administration has designated chapters as terrorist organizations. — Nicholas Wu, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Her daughters and grandson attended the graduation, celebrating a moment Anderson hopes will mark the beginning of a new chapter. — Brian Maass, CBS News, 16 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English chapitre, from Anglo-French chapitre, chapitle, from Late Latin capitulum division of a book & Medieval Latin, meeting place of canons, from Latin, diminutive of capit-, caput head — more at head

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing chapter

• a chapter of accidents
• chapter and verse
• sub-chapter

Rhymes for chapter

• apter
• captor
• raptor
• adapter
• adaptor
• subchapter

Kids Definition

chapter

noun

chap·​ter ˈchap-tər 

1

a

: a main division of a book or of a law code

b

: something like a chapter in being a significant unit

a chapter in my life

2

: a local branch of an organization