Definition, synonyms and related words
plural of chapter
"She packed her favorite books, including several beloved chapters from his latest novel."
In plain English: Chapters are the separate sections that make up a book, each usually telling part of the story.
"The story is divided into several exciting chapters that take place in different cities."
Usage: Use chapters to refer to distinct sections within a book or other long written work, such as the individual parts that make up a novel. Do not use it to describe unrelated events or separate books unless you are specifically discussing their internal structure.
Third-person singular simple present indicative form of chapter
"She chapters through her biography, stopping at each significant event to reflect on its impact."
In plain English: To chapter something means to cut it into smaller sections.
"She decided to chapters her life story into three distinct parts."
Usage: Do not use "chapters" as a verb to mean writing or concluding a section; it is strictly a noun referring to divisions in a book or movie. The correct third-person singular verb form for the action of creating a section is simply "chapters," but this usage is extremely rare and often considered an error when people intend to say someone is "chaptering" a story, which should be rephrased entirely.
Derived from Latin capitulum, the diminutive of caput meaning "head," this term originally referred to short sections or summaries in ancient manuscripts before evolving into divisions within books. The sense of a distinct section stems directly from its literal meaning of a little head, marking the beginning of a new part.