A chapel is a part of a church which has its own altar and which is used for private prayer.
...the chapel of the Virgin Mary.
2. countable noun
A chapel is a small church attached to a hospital, school, or prison.
We married in the chapel of Charing Cross Hospital in London. [+ of]
3. variable noun
A chapel is a building used for worship by members of some Christian churches. Chapel refers to the religious services that take place there.
...a Methodist chapel.
On Sundays, the family went three times to chapel.
chapel in British English
(ˈtʃæpəl)
noun
1.
a place of Christian worship in a larger building, esp a place set apart, with a separate altar, in a church or cathedral
2.
a similar place of worship in or attached to a large house or institution, such as a college, hospital, or prison
3.
a church subordinate to a parish church
4. (in Britain)
a.
a Nonconformist place of worship
b.
Nonconformist religious practices or doctrine
c.
(as adjective)
he is chapel, but his wife is church
Compare church (sense 8)
5.
(in Scotland) a Roman Catholic church
6.
the members of a trade union in a particular newspaper office, printing house, etc
7.
a printing office
Word origin
C13: from Old French chapele, from Late Latin cappella, diminutive of cappa cloak (see cap1); originally denoting the sanctuary where the cloak of St Martin of Tours was keptas a relic
chapel in American English
(ˈtʃæpəl)
noun
1.
a place of Christian worship subordinate to and smaller than a church
2.
a.
a room or building used as a place of worship, as in a hospital, school, or army post
b.
a room in a funeral home for funeral services
3.
a.
a room or recess in a church, set apart for special services and having its own altar
b.
a similar room in some Jewish synagogues
4.
a service in a chapel, or any religious service, as at a school
5.
the singers of a private chapel, collectively
6.
a local chapter of a printers' union
7.
in Great Britain, any place of worship for those who are not members of an established church
Word origin
ME & OFr chapelle < ML cappella, dim. of cappa, cape < LL: orig., sanctuary in which the cappa or cope of St. Martin was preserved; then, any sanctuary
Examples of 'chapel' in a sentence
chapel
It used to be a chapel and the house was its church hall.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Can she grab a moment of calm in the hospital chapel?
The Sun (2014)
The chapel is well placed for the local racecourse.
The Sun (2015)
The service in the church or funeral chapel can then conclude on a positive note of hope and encouragement.
Christianity Today (2000)
Such a burial in a newly built mausoleum church or chapel would have been quite in keeping with the age.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
Family chapels are less common than they used to be, but they are here to stay.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
Inside the prison, the chapel has been converted into an unlikely arena of rock.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The chapel built in the 15th century is the oldest surviving building.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
This is my chapel, my place of escape.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
In the former hospital, the chapel was the place where they used to meet.
Carpenter, Anne & Johnson, Geoffrey Why am I Afraid to Grieve (1994)
I last saw him lying dead in the hospital chapel.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
But visitors should stop by at the small chapel, just off the lower end of the main square.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
He was a fervent Catholic and in gratitude for his survival he and his family built a chapel on their ranch.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
She loves him and learns from him, overcoming her fear of the dark place behind the chapel when he goes missing.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
This may have been a small chapel close to the house, or just an upper room with an altar at its east end.
Christina Hardyment Malory: The Life and Times of King Arthur's Chronicler (2005)
In his old age people began to build chapels for his dead body, driving him to ask one of his disciples to bury him in secret.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
There is a selection of public houses and chapels that could be converted for residential use, as well as some beautiful country houses ripe for restoration.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
She spent long hours in the hospital chapel, hiding from doctors, hiding from nurses and trying to hide from life itself.
The Sun (2011)
There is a cinema room with stained-glass windows and a gallery above, recalling the time when this part of the building was a chapel.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
In other languages
chapel
British English: chapel /ˈtʃæpl/ NOUN
A chapel is a part of a Christian church which has its own altar and which is used for private prayer.
American English: chapel
Arabic: كَنِيسَةٌ صَغِيرَة
Brazilian Portuguese: capela
Chinese: 小礼拜堂
Croatian: kapela
Czech: kaple
Danish: kapel
Dutch: kapel
European Spanish: capilla
Finnish: kappeli
French: chapelle
German: Kapelle
Greek: παρεκκλήσι
Italian: cappella
Japanese: 礼拝堂
Korean: 예배당
Norwegian: kapell
Polish: kaplica
European Portuguese: capela
Romanian: capelă
Russian: часовня
Latin American Spanish: capilla
Swedish: kapell
Thai: โบสถ์เล็กๆ
Turkish: şapel
Ukrainian: каплиця
Vietnamese: nhà nguyện
All related terms of 'chapel'
Lady Chapel
a chapel within a church or cathedral , dedicated to the Virgin Mary
Sistine Chapel
the chapel of the pope in the Vatican at Rome , built for Sixtus IV and decorated with frescoes by Michelangelo and others
chapel of ease
a church built to accommodate those living at a distance from the parish church
chapel of rest
a room in an undertaker's place of business where bodies are laid out in their coffins to be viewed before the funeral
father of the chapel
(in British trade unions in the publishing and printing industries ) a shop steward
mother of the chapel
(in British trade unions in the publishing and printing industries ) a woman shop steward
Chinese translation of 'chapel'
chapel
(ˈtʃæpl)
n
(c) (in church) 小教堂 (xiǎo jiàotáng) (座, zuò)
(c) (in hospital, prison, school) 附属(屬)教堂 (fùshǔ jiàotáng) (个(個), gè)