What does chored mean?
'Chored' is the simple past tense and past participle of the verb 'to chore,' meaning to perform routine household or farm tasks such as cleaning, feeding animals, or general upkeep. The verb itself is informal and used chiefly in American English, where phrases like 'to chore around the house' are heard in rural and everyday speech, though it remains much rarer than the noun 'chore.' When someone says they 'chored all afternoon,' they convey steady, unglamorous labor — work done out of necessity rather than ambition. The word carries a connotation of humble, repetitive duty, often evoking domestic life, childhood responsibilities, or farm routines. Though unremarkable in form, 'chored' connects to a surprisingly deep history: its root lies in the Old English word for 'a turn,' making it a distant relative of 'ajar.' It is best reserved for informal contexts, as more formal writing typically prefers constructions like 'did the chores.'
verb (simple past and past participle of 'chore')Past tense and past participle of the verb 'chore': to do routine domestic or farm tasks, especially cleaning or upkeep work around a home.
- To have performed routine domestic or farm chores (past tense/past participle of 'to chore').
"She chored all morning before the guests arrived."
"He chored around the barn until well past dark."
"By the time she had chored through the kitchen and laundry, the morning was gone."
The humble verb behind 'chored' traces back over a thousand years to an Old English word meaning 'a turn' — the same root that gave us 'ajar,' as in a door left slightly open.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of chored
As the inflected form of 'chore,' the word derives from Middle English 'cher(r)e,' meaning a turn or task, which in turn comes from the Old English noun 'cierr,' meaning a turn or occasion. The same Germanic root produced the dialectal variants 'char' and 'chare' for odd jobs, and it survives in modern English in 'ajar,' literally 'on the turn.' The noun 'chore' came to denote small routine tasks, and the verb 'to chore,' chiefly American and informal, developed from it.
Related word forms
How chored is actually used
The verb 'to chore' is informal and chiefly North American; it is far less common than the noun 'chore.' The inflected form 'chored' appears mostly in casual speech and regional writing rather than formal prose.
Easily confused with chored
'Chorded' refers to something arranged or played in chords (musical or geometric), whereas 'chored' means having performed routine household or farm tasks.