chapter

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

• noun One of the main divisions of a relatively lengthy piece of writing, such as a book, that is usually numbered or titled.
• noun One of the main divisions of a video recording, usually accessible through an onscreen menu.
• noun A distinct period or sequence of events, as in history or a person's life.
• noun A local branch of an organization, such as a club or fraternity.
• noun An assembly of the canons of a church or of the members of a religious residence.
• noun The canons of a church or the members of a religious residence considered as a group.
• noun A short scriptural passage read after the psalms in certain church services.

from The Century Dictionary.

• To bring to book; tax with a fault; correct; censure.
• To arrange or divide into chapters, as a literary composition.
• noun A division of the acts of Parliament of a single session.
• noun Head; subject; category: as, to have much to say on some chapters.
• noun A division or section, usually numbered, of a book or treatise: as, Genesis contains fifty chapters. Abbreviated c., ch., or chap.
• noun The council of a bishop, consisting of the canons or prebends and other ecclesiastics attached to a collegiate or cathedral church, and presided over by a dean.
• noun An assembly of the monks in a monastery, or of those in a province, or of the entire order.
• noun The place in which the business of the chapter of a cathedral or monastery is conducted; a chapter-house.
• noun A name given to the meetings of certain organized orders and societies: as, to hold a chapter of the Garter, or of the College of Arms.
• noun A branch of some society or brotherhood, usually consisting of the members resident in one locality: as, the grand chapter of the royal order of Kilwinning; a chapter of a college fraternity.
• noun A decretal epistle.
• noun A place where delinquents receive discipline and correction.
• noun A series of mishaps; a succession of mischances.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

• transitive verb To divide into chapters, as a book.
• transitive verb obsolete To correct; to bring to book, i. e., to demand chapter and verse.
• noun A division of a book or treatise.
• noun An assembly of monks, or of the prebends and other clergymen connected with a cathedral, conventual, or collegiate church, or of a diocese, usually presided over by the dean.
• noun A community of canons or canonesses.
• noun A bishop's council.
• noun A business meeting of any religious community.
• noun An organized branch of some society or fraternity as of the Freemasons.
• noun A meeting of certain organized societies or orders.
• noun rare A chapter house.
• noun A decretal epistle.
• noun A location or compartment.
• noun that which stands at the head of a chapter, as a title.
• noun a house or room where a chapter meets, esp. a cathedral chapter.
• noun chance.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

• noun One of the main sections into which the text of a book is divided.
• noun An administrative division of an organization, usually local to a specific area.
• noun A sequence (of events), especially when presumed related and likely to continue.
• verb To divide into chapters.
• verb To put into a chapter.
• verb military, with "out" To use administrative procedure to remove someone.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

• noun any distinct period in history or in a person's life
• noun a subdivision of a written work; usually numbered and titled
• noun an ecclesiastical assembly of the monks in a monastery or even of the canons of a church
• noun a local branch of some fraternity or association
• noun a series of related events forming an episode