chose

1 of 2

verb

past tense of choose

transitive verb

1

a

: to select freely and after consideration

choose a career

b

: to decide on especially by vote : elect

chose her as captain

2

a

: to have a preference for

choose one car over another

b

: decide

chose to go by train

intransitive verb

1

: to make a selection

finding it hard to choose

2

: to take an alternative

—used after cannot and usually followed by but

when earth is so kind, men cannot choose but be happy

—J. A. Froude

chose

2 of 2

noun

ˈshōz 

: a piece of personal property : thing

Word History

Etymology

Noun

French, from Latin causa cause, reason

First Known Use

Noun

1670, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

chose

past of choose

Legal Definition

chose

noun

ˈshōz 

: a piece of personal property

— chose in action

: a right to something (as payment of a debt or damages for injury) that can be recovered in a lawsuit

also : a document (as a check or stock certificate) embodying such a right

— chose in possession

: something that is in one's actual possession or can be possessed

Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French, literally, thing, from Old French, from Latin causa legal case, reason, cause