chore

chore — noun

1. a routine activity that someone must do regularly to keep a home or farm running

1.名詞C1
釋義

a routine activity that someone must do regularly to keep a home or farm running, such as washing dishes, cleaning floors, or doing laundry

例句

Every Saturday morning, the children divide up the household chores before going out to play.

collocation: household chores

Aiko's least favourite chore is scrubbing the bathtub after her brothers have used it.

同義詞
  • task

    broader term — a task can be any piece of work, not necessarily routine or domestic

  • duty

    more formal; emphasises moral obligation or responsibility rather than everyday routine

  • errand

    refers to a short trip taken to accomplish a specific purpose (e.g., going to the post office), not a job done at home

  • job

    neutral and wide-ranging; can refer to paid work, whereas a chore is usually unpaid household work

反義詞
  • leisure

    chores are obligatory work; leisure is free-time relaxation

文法句型

plural form: chores

often preceded by household / domestic / everyday

用法筆記

This sense is most common in the plural form 'chores' when listing a set of routine household tasks. Singular use typically singles out one specific task from that set (e.g., 'scrubbing the bathtub is my least favourite chore'). The modifier 'household', 'domestic', or 'daily' frequently precedes it.

常見錯誤

❌I have to finish my chores duties before dinner.
✅I have to finish my chores before dinner.
💡'chores' already includes the idea of routine duties; adding 'duties' is redundant.
❌She did a chore of cleaning the kitchen.
✅She did the chore of cleaning the kitchen.' or 'Cleaning the kitchen was one of her chores.
💡use the definite article when specifying which chore.

2. an activity that feels tedious, tiring, or disagreeable to complete, even though

2.名詞C1
釋義

an activity that feels tedious, tiring, or disagreeable to complete, even though it may not require much physical effort

例句

Filling out tax forms is a chore that Ravi dreads every spring.

pattern: a chore that + relative clause

After his birthday, Tomás viewed writing thank-you notes as a tiresome chore.

collocation: tiresome chore

同義詞
  • drudgery

    stronger, emphasising monotonous, exhausting, or menial work that wears you down over time

  • bore

    focuses purely on the lack of interest or excitement, without the sense of obligation

  • burden

    suggests a heavy weight or responsibility; more serious in tone than 'chore'

  • nuisance

    milder — something annoying but not necessarily tedious or time-consuming

反義詞
  • pleasure

    a chore is something you dislike doing; a pleasure is something you enjoy

文法句型

a chore to + infinitive

feel like a chore

become a chore

用法筆記

Distinguish from Sense 1: this sense emphasises the speaker's negative feelings (boredom, reluctance, dislike) rather than the routine nature of the task. The task itself may be non-routine — even a one-time activity can be called a chore if it is disagreeable. Common evaluative modifiers include 'tedious', 'tiresome', 'unpleasant', 'boring', and 'dreaded'.

常見錯誤

❌I need to do a chore of writing this report.
✅Writing this report feels like a chore.' or 'Writing this report is a chore.
💡the idiomatic pattern is 'X is a chore' or 'X feels like a chore', not 'a chore of Y'.