alderman

American  

[awl-der-muhn] / ˈɔl dər mən /

noun

aldermen plural

1. a member of a municipal legislative body, especially of a municipal council.

2. (in England) one of the members, chosen by the elected councilors, in a borough or county council.

3. Early English History.

   1. a chief.

   2. (later) the chief magistrate of a county or group of counties.

4. Northern U.S. Slang. a pot belly.

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alderman British  

/ ˌɔːldəˈmænɪk, ˈɔːldəmən /

noun

1. (in England and Wales until 1974) one of the senior members of a local council, elected by other councillors

2. (in the US, Canada, Australia, etc) a member of the governing body of a municipality

3. history a variant spelling of ealdorman

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alderman Cultural  

1. A member of a city council. Aldermen usually represent city districts, called wards, and work with the mayor to run the city government. Jockeying among aldermen for political influence is often associated with machine politics.

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Gender

Is alderman gender-neutral? See -man.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• aldermanry
  noun
• aldermanic
  adjective
• aldermanship
  noun
• underalderman
  noun
• aldermancy
  noun

Inflected Forms

noun

• aldermen
  plural

Etymology

Origin of alderman

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English (e)aldormann, equivalent to ealdor “chief, patriarch” ( eald old + -or noun suffix) + mann man

Explanation

An alderman is a member of a city or town government. The city of Chicago is governed by a group of 50 aldermen. In Anglo-Saxon England, an alderman was a royal official who made laws or served in the military. The word is from a root that means "patriarch" or "old man," and these long-ago aldermen were, in fact, exclusively male. Today a board of aldermen is basically the same as a city council, consisting of elected representatives who govern a town or city. Many places have begun using the more inclusive term alderperson to refer to these legislators.

Example Sentences

Aliso Niguel 3, San Clemente 1: Chad Alderman threw a complete game and Henry Drews had three hits.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026

Biopharma leadership teams rely on Alderman and Molekule to clarify choices, sharpen timing and accelerate conviction in high-stakes decision cycles.

From MarketWatch • Dec. 10, 2025

Alderman Emma Mitts said her house has flooded five times in the nearly 50 years she has lived there.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 10, 2025

He was also briefly married to Leigh-Anne Csuhany, and dance instructor Doreen Alderman before that.

From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 28, 2025

Known as Alderman Sugar- Cane, he was so successful that he became the mayor of London and a member of Parliament.

From "Sugar Changed the World: A Story of Magic, Spice, Slavery, Freedom, and Science" by Marc Aronson