chant
/t͡ʃɑːnt/verb, noun
chant is spelled C-H-A-N-T: 5 letters and one syllable. It appears 4.0 times per million words in written English, the 12,940th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, chant means “To sing, especially without instruments, and as applied to monophonic and pre-modern music” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in chant?
| Letters | 5: C-H-A-N-T |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 1 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 4.0 times per million words; the 12,940th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
| Rhymes with | |
| Same letters |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media); rhymes and same-letter words are computed by PlainSpell from its own word list.
How common is chant?
Chant appears 4.0 times per million words in written English, the 12,940th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce chant?
- UK /t͡ʃɑːnt/
- /t͡ʃant/
- /t͡ʃant/
Chant has one syllable (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-chant.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
What rhymes with chant?
4 words on PlainSpell end in the same sounds as chant from its last stressed vowel (/ɑnt/, British pronunciation):
Spelled with the same letters in another order: natch.
Computed by PlainSpell from the pronunciations in the English Wiktionary (dump of September 2, 2026): a rhyme shares every sound from the last stressed vowel to the end; ordered by written frequency (wordfreq 3.1).
Forms of chant
- chants present, singular, he/she/it, plural
- chanting participle, present
- chanted participle, past
- chaunt
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does chant mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To sing, especially without instruments, and as applied to monophonic and pre-modern music.
- 2
To sing or intone sacred text.
- 3
To utter or repeat in a strongly rhythmical manner, especially as a group.
The football fans chanted insults at the referee.
- 4
archaicTo sell horses fraudulently, exaggerating their merits.
noun
- 1
Type of singing done generally without instruments and harmony.
- 2
A short and simple melody to which unmetrical psalms, etc., are sung or recited.
- 3
A harmonized melody used in Anglican chant, usually split into two two-bar phrases, to which the words of a psalm are sung by a choir; typically, each musical phrase corresponds to the text of half of a verse.
- 4
Twang; manner of speaking; a canting tone.
- 5
A repetitive song, typically an incantation or part of a ritual.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Chant in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | chanter |
| Portuguese | cantar |
| Spanish | salmodiar, canturrear, cantusar, canturriar, cantusear , corear |
| German | skandieren, im Sprechchor rufen |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does chant come from?
From Middle English chaunten, from Old French chanter, from Latin cantāre (“sing”). Doublet of cant.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).