Choir or quire?
quire is the uncommon form of choir. They sound the same (/kwaɪə(ɹ)/). In written English (wordfreq, 2021 data) choir is about 46 times as common as quire.
What is the difference between choir and quire?
| choir | quire | |
|---|---|---|
| Part of speech | noun, verb | noun, verb |
| Meaning | A group of people who sing together; a company of people who are trained to sing together One quarter of a cruciform church, or the architectural area of a church, generally used by the choir; often near the apse To sing in concert | Uncommon form of choir One-twentieth of a ream of paper; a collection of twenty-four or twenty-five sheets of paper of the same size and quality, unfolded or having a single fold A set of leaves which are stitched together, originally a set of four pieces of paper (eight leaves, sixteen pages). This is most often a single signature… To prepare quires by stitching together leaves of paper |
| Example | The church choir practices Thursday nights | none recorded |
| Forms | choirs | quires |
| Pronunciation | /kwaɪə(ɹ)/ /kwɑə(ɹ)~ kwɑː(ɹ)/ /kwaɪɚ/ | /ˈkwaɪ.ə(ɹ)/ |
| In writing | 7.6 times per million words | about once in every 6 million words |
Sources: choir and quire in the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
Every current meaning of choir and quire
choir
- 1
A group of people who sing together; a company of people who are trained to sing together
The church choir practices Thursday nights
- 2
To sing in concert
- 3
One quarter of a cruciform church, or the architectural area of a church, generally used by the choir; often near the apse
- 4
One of the nine ranks or orders of angels
Seraphim, Cherubim, and Thrones are three of the choirs of angels
- 5
A group of angels, especially when depicted in art
- 6
Set of strings (one per note) for a harpsichord
- 7
Any group or assemblage producing sound together; a chorus of loud cries or noises
quire
- 1
One-twentieth of a ream of paper; a collection of twenty-four or twenty-five sheets of paper of the same size and quality, unfolded or having a single fold
- 2
To prepare quires by stitching together leaves of paper
- 3
Poetic spelling of choir (“to sing in concert”)
- 4
A set of leaves which are stitched together, originally a set of four pieces of paper (eight leaves, sixteen pages). This is most often a single signature (i.e. group of four), but may be several…
- 5
A book, poem, or pamphlet
Source: the English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0); obsolete, archaic, dialect and rare senses left out.
Which is more common, choir or quire?
choir appears 7.6 times per million words; quire about once in every 6 million words.
choir 7.6 times per million wordsquire about once in every 6 million words
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).