chair
Americannoun
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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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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)
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
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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:
French President Emmanuel Macron will chair a crisis cabinet meeting Monday morning to discuss the wildfires ravaging several areas of southwest France, his office said.
From Barron's ● Jul. 27, 2026
The chair was always able to negotiate support from his six fellow governors.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026
American businesses have navigated Trump’s trade war nimbly, said Rich Lesser, chair of Boston Consulting Group.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 25, 2026
“Far fewer people living outside. Far more people indoors,” Raman, who has served on the council since 2020 and is chair of the City Council’s housing and homelessness committee, said at the press conference.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
She looked up from her landing place, where she’d managed to become wedged between the legs of the smallest chair.
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Justice Minister Mmamoloko Kubayi, who chairs the committee, said that during the police operation in Cape Town last Thursday "some foreign nationals... were resisting law enforcement operations".
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
They were formed with cones, shipping pallets, chairs, trash bins, or even neighbors inside a traffic circle.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
Jeannie Cameron, who chairs the committee, said the funds would be applied directly to customers' bills.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
They had wanted a historic home with an old-world Spanish feel to match two Renaissance chairs they bought in Granada, Spain, but that dream became something much bigger.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
‘Now can you girls lay the table? Put our visitors in the nice chairs, and take out the best cutlery, please,’ she said.
From "Code Name Kingfisher" by Liz Kessler
Vélez and Vince will also join the foundation’s board, which is also chaired by Taylor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
Eddie Comeaux, a UC Riverside professor who chaired the system’s admissions board in 2020 when it recommended keeping the tests, said a committee had “significant” divisions on testing even though it ultimately favored it.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
The official who oversees this process in Washington is Fed governor Christopher Waller, who has chaired the board’s committee on reserve bank affairs since 2022.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
His answer was to create another review - a national maternity inquiry chaired by Baroness Amos - to bring all those recommendations into a slate of smaller, more focused actions.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2026
Grabarek’s mayoral rival, Watts Carr, Jr., chaired the eleven-man body, which included two blacks.
From "The Best of Enemies" by Osha Gray Davidson
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.
