Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
council chamber

council chamber

10 4.1
A room where local officials meet to make decisions for a town or city
  • noun
  • /ˈkaʊnsl ˈtʃeɪmbər/
: salón del consejo
  • The doors to the council chamber opened, and Aurin Striate entered with two other men.
  • city council chamber
  • council chamber doors

Examples

  • But most of all, for leaving ideology and any animosity in the car, and not bringing it into the council chamber, where the people's business is done.

    Blog text (13)

  • Tuesday's closure of the council chambers had been planned in advance, said Karen Boyd, a spokesperson for the city, speaking before the meeting.

    Blog text (16)

  • The duke is always welcome in the council chamber.

    Torture Dungeon (1970)

  • Her Majesty is waiting for you in the council chamber.

    The Scarlet Empress (1934)

  • Before entering the council chamber, you must surrender your weapon.

    Hellboy II: The Golden Army (2008)

  • They're waiting for you in the council chamber.

    Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (1972)

  • The issue will be debated in our council chambers tomorrow at 6:00, during our Committee of the Whole meeting.

    Blog text (7)

  • The French ambassador, Monsieur Chanut, is waiting in the council chamber.

    Queen Christina (1934)

  • Wednesday, the typically placid council chamber occasionally erupted in disorder.

    Blog text (34)

  • The three brothers met in the council chamber at dawn to decide on a course of action.

Synonyms

hall
vscouncil chamber
739 1.0

A large space for public gatherings like concerts or feasts

is specifically a room for official committee gatherings to conduct formal business
conference room
vscouncil chamber
101 2.0

A room in an office where people meet to discuss work

is used by public officials for formal decision making rather than general office meetings
boardroom
vscouncil chamber
36 3.6

A room where a company's leaders meet to make important decisions

is the meeting room for public officials to conduct formal civic business
assembly hall
vscouncil chamber
4 2.7

A large room in a school or community centre where people gather for meetings and events

is designed for smaller official meetings focused on formal business and decisions

How Official

council chamber
10 4.1
conference room
101 2.0
room
∞ 1.0

Surface Forms

council chamber singular
council chambers plural

Morphology

council + chamber

The meaning 'a room where a council meets' is directly compositional from 'council' (a meeting body) + 'chamber' (a room), so a learner who knows both words can infer the phrase. This is a common, cross-linguistic noun + location composition and thus immediately comprehensible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

The compound council chamber comes from old public buildings where a council (a group of leaders) met in a private chamber (a room) to talk and make decisions. That's why it now means 'a room where a council meets to conduct official business'.