Examples Word Origin
See more synonyms for chair on Thesaurus.com a seat, especially for one person, usually having four legs for support and a rest for the back and often having rests for the arms. something that serves as a chair or supports like a chair: The two men clasped hands to make a chair for their injured companion. a seat of office or authority. a position of authority, as of a judge, professor, etc. the person occupying a seat of office, especially the chairperson of a meeting: The speaker addressed the chair. (in an orchestra) the position of a player, assigned by rank; desk: first clarinet chair. the chair, Informal electric chair .chairlift .sedan chair .(in reinforced-concrete construction) a device for maintaining the position of reinforcing rods or strands during the pouring operation. a glassmaker's bench having extended arms on which a blowpipe is rolled in shaping glass. British Railroads a metal block for supporting a rail and securing it to a crosstie or the like. Show More
to place or seat in a chair. to install in office. to preside over; act as chairperson of: to chair a committee. British to carry (a hero or victor) aloft in triumph. Show More
verb (used without object) to preside over a meeting, committee, etc. Show More
get the chair , to be sentenced to die in the electric chair. take the chair , to begin or open a meeting. to preside at a meeting; act as chairperson. Show More
Origin of chair 1250–1300; Middle English chaiere <
Old French <
Latin cathedra; see
cathedra Related forms chair·less , adjective un·chair , verb (used with object) Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words for chair bench ,
armchair ,
recliner ,
sling ,
rocker ,
cathedra ,
throne ,
chairperson ,
monitor ,
fellowship ,
director ,
tutor ,
helm ,
captain ,
leader ,
principal ,
tutorship ,
professorship ,
instructorship ,
professorate Examples from the Web for chair Contemporary Examples of chair While 19 percent of the House is female, just one woman will get to chair one of its 20 committees.
Still fearful and smarting from the pain, I arrived on time and was led to chair in his office.
I started to squirm in my chair and Jimbo put his hand back on my shoulder to settle me down.
Slouching in her chair she is in defensive mode when describing the age of her latest lover.
At that first meeting, activists elected Nobel laureate Andrei Sakharov to be the chair for their society.
Historical Examples of chair He sat down in a chair , and stretched out his legs, with an air of being at home.
Percval quickly helped him into a chair , where he became limp.
"I knew he'd plunge," he said, taking the chair proffered him, near Shepler's desk.
His shoulders over-flowed the back of his chair , which creaked whenever he moved.
Grace sprang from her chair and began slipping into her wraps.
British Dictionary definitions for chair a seat with a back on which one person sits, typically having four legs and often having arms an official position of authority a chair on the board of directors the person chairing a debate or meeting the speaker addressed the chair a professorship the chair of German railways an iron or steel cradle bolted to a sleeper in which the rail sits and is locked in position short for sedan chair in the chair chairing a debate or meeting take the chair to preside as chairman for a meeting, etc the chair an informal name for electric chair Show More
to preside over (a meeting) British to carry aloft in a sitting position after a triumph or great achievement to provide with a chair of office to install in a chair Show More
Word Origin for chair C13: from Old French chaiere, from Latin cathedra, from Greek kathedra, from kata- down + hedra seat; compare cathedral
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for chair n. early 13c., chaere , from Old French chaiere "chair, seat, throne" (12c.; Modern French chaire "pulpit, throne;" the more modest sense having gone since 16c. with variant form chaise ), from Latin cathedra "seat" (see cathedral ).
Figurative sense of "authority" was in Middle English, of bishops and professors. Meaning "office of a professor" (1816) is extended from the seat from which a professor lectures (mid-15c.). Meaning "seat of a person presiding at meeting" is from 1640s. As short for electric chair from 1900.
Show More
v. mid-15c., "install in a chair or seat" (implied in chairing ), from chair (n.); meaning "preside over" (a meeting, etc.) is attested by 1921. Related: Chaired .
Show More
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with chair The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
