chair
Americannoun
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chairs
plural
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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.
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something that serves as a chair or supports like a chair.
The two men clasped hands to make a chair for their injured companion.
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a seat of office or authority.
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a position of authority, as of a judge, professor, etc.
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the person occupying a seat of office, especially the chairperson of a meeting.
The speaker addressed the chair.
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(in an orchestra) the position of a player, assigned by rank; desk.
first clarinet chair.
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Informal. the chair, electric chair.
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(in reinforced-concrete construction) a device for maintaining the position of reinforcing rods or strands during the pouring operation.
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a glassmaker's bench having extended arms on which a blowpipe is rolled in shaping glass.
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British Railroads. a metal block for supporting a rail and securing it to a crosstie or the like.
verb (used with object)
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chairs,
present (3rd person singular)
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chaired,
past participle, past
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chairing
present participle
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to place or seat in a chair.
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to install in office.
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to preside over; act as chairperson of.
to chair a committee.
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British. to carry (a hero or victor) aloft in triumph.
verb (used without object)
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chairs,
present (3rd person singular)
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chaired,
past participle, past
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chairing
present participle
idioms
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take the chair,
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to begin or open a meeting.
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to preside at a meeting; act as chairperson.
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get the chair, to be sentenced to die in the electric chair.
noun
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a seat with a back on which one person sits, typically having four legs and often having arms
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an official position of authority
a chair on the board of directors
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the person chairing a debate or meeting
the speaker addressed the chair
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a professorship
the chair of German
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railways an iron or steel cradle bolted to a sleeper in which the rail sits and is locked in position
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short for sedan chair
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chairing a debate or meeting
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to preside as chairman for a meeting, etc
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an informal name for electric chair
verb
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to preside over (a meeting)
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to carry aloft in a sitting position after a triumph or great achievement
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to provide with a chair of office
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to install in a chair
Gender
Is it chair, chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson? See chairperson.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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chairsimple
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chairssimple
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have chairedperfect
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has chairedperfect
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am chairingprogressive
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are chairingprogressive
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is chairingprogressive
-
have been chairingperfect progressive
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has been chairingperfect progressive
Past
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chairedsimple
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had chairedperfect
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was chairingprogressive
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were chairingprogressive
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had been chairingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of chair
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English chaiere, from Old French, from Latin cathedra; see cathedra
Explanation
A chair is a seat with four legs and a back to lean against. When you invite a large group for dinner, you have to make sure you find chairs for all of your guests. As opposed to a bench, couch, or sofa, a chair usually seats one single person. You might have wooden kitchen chairs and a comfortable, upholstered chair with arms for watching TV. Another kind of chair is the leader of an organization or group, and it's also a verb meaning to lead such a group: "I've been asked to chair the monthly meetings of the stamp collectors' club." The Old French root is chaiere, "seat or throne."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
O’Brien will succeed Ryan Lance, who plans to retire and become executive chair of the gas and oil company, ConocoPhillips said Thursday.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
David Campbell, chair of the Loyalist Communities Council former UUP chair, also provided Lloyd-Lavery a reference.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
“During and after the COVID-19 pandemic, many more unhoused people began to populate our Metro system,” Mayor Karen Bass, who became Metro’s chair in July, said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
"Our result was positively impacted by ongoing underlying demand for Cathay Pacific and Cathay Cargo, improved performance from HK Express, and stronger contributions from associates," the chair Guy Bradley said in its earnings report.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
I pulled up a chair beside him and talked some nonsense about the unusual January weather.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Baroness Shas Sheehan, who chairs the committee, said the overuse of the treatments on household pets was "the equivalent of using a sledgehammer to crack a nut".
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Previous chairs could persuade a colleague against dissenting with a tweak to the statement—a hawkish phrase here, a dovish nod there—or by implying that action was likelier at a later meeting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
The photo shows a vacationing couple seated in striped deck chairs beneath a brightly coloured parasol on a beach.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Nadira Goffe argues that watching the film in 4DX—which features, among other things, scents, moving chairs, and sprays of water—is the superior way to experience the epic adventure.
From Slate ● Jul. 28, 2026
The kids shoved back their chairs and headed for the door.
From "A Boy Called Bat" by Elana K. Arnold
Mr. Koonin, a senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, is a National Academy of Sciences member and chaired the NRC Divisional Committee for Engineering and Physical Sciences from 2014 to 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
However, there is a "deeper problem," according to Martijn Rasser, vice president for technology at the Special Competitive Studies Project, a think tank founded and chaired by former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
All three charges are assigned to Patrick’s newly formed Religious Liberty Committee, chaired by state Sen. Phil King, R-Weatherford, that was announced in March.
From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026
In a statement released after Thursday's meeting, which was held virtually and chaired by president Aleksander Ceferin, Uefa said it and its 55 member associations "stand as one".
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
In the 1930s, she chaired a panel on the future of feminism.
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
And there was an incident this week while McConnell was chairing his defense appropriations subcommittee hearing.
From Slate ● May 16, 2026
Josh Newman, 61, has been a state senator, including chairing the education committee, and a technology company executive.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 1, 2026
He would rather spend his energy volunteering, making art, going to operas and chairing the Council on Aging in North Andover, Mass., where he lives.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
Retired senior judge Deborah Taylor KC is chairing the inquiry, which is hearing from more than 100 witnesses over a total of nine weeks.
From BBC ● Mar. 17, 2026
In the days leading up to the charrette, Durham’s two white newspapers also featured several in-depth stories about the event, many of them focusing on the odd couple chairing it.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
