chairman
Americannoun
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chairmen
plural
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the presiding officer of a meeting, committee, board, etc.
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the administrative head of a department in a high school, college, or university.
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someone employed to carry or wheel a person in a chair.
verb (used with object)
noun
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Also called: chairperson, chairwoman. a person who presides over a company's board of directors, a committee, a debate, an administrative department, etc
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history someone who carries a sedan chair
Usage
Chairman can seem inappropriate when applied to a woman, while chairwoman can be offensive. Chair and chairperson can be applied to either a man or a woman; chair is generally preferred to chairperson
Gender
Is it chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson? See chairperson.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of chairman
Explanation
A chairman is the leader of a business meeting or group. The chairman often opens a meeting by addressing the group and explaining what the agenda will be. Charities, clubs, and the boards of companies have a chairman who acts as president or leader. The noun chairman can refer to this person, whether male or female, though sometimes a woman is called a chairwoman. These days, it's more common still to simply call her (or him) a chair. The word chairman comes from a sense of "occupying a chair of authority," while "presiding member of a corporate body" first emerged in the 18th century.
Vocabulary lists containing chairman
The Legislative Branch, Sections 4–6
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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:
Lissu became Chadema's national chairman in January 2025 and intensified his demands for electoral reforms.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
Michael Cembalest, the chairman of market and investment strategy at JPMorgan Asset Management, said the risk isn’t so much to next year but the year after.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 5, 2026
Simon Tay, chairman of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, a think-tank, told AFP the law would strengthen Singapore's hand but limitations would remain.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
Eagle Rock coach Andy Moran, who’s chairman of the football advisory committee, said there was no scenario for winless teams “to come out of here.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
The hat he now displayed was that of the chairman of a committee of the National Research Council.
From "Double Helix" by James D. Watson
Indeed, Warsh was less willing than previous Fed chairmen to speculate much on the path of the economy, inflation and interest rates during his first press conference.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
Manifold’s abrupt departure adds to BP’s leadership turmoil, which has seen four CEOs and three chairmen since 2023.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
Earlier Fed chairmen have worked to further Fed independence and accountability by bolstering the role of the Federal Reserve Banks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 14, 2026
Before you get to that stage, however, club owners and chairmen will rely on their sporting director and chief executive to compile a list of names.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2026
I wrote a note to all the chairmen of English departments who had offered me jobs.
From "Hunger of Memory" by Richard Rodriguez
The Senate committee, chairmaned by Florida's New-Dealing Pepper, proposed to do something to better the nation's health.
From Time Magazine Archive
As such he supervised the corporation's financial affairs, chairmaned some of its most important committees.
From Time Magazine Archive
It provides that all legal disputes which may arise between Austria and Czechoslovakia are to be submitted to an impartial commission chairmaned by an appointee of the Swiss Government.
From Time Magazine Archive
At Edinburgh in 1910 he chairmaned the great interdenominational world conference, out of which evolved in 1920 the I.M.C., which he has headed ever since.
From Time Magazine Archive
It was late in the afternoon of the same day that the Federative Council sent its committee, chairmaned by Engineer Scott, to interview the ex-general manager at his rooms in the Clarendon.
From The Grafters by Francis Lynde
In 1941 he chairmanned the U.S.O.'s $10 million fund-raising drive.
From Time Magazine Archive
Because of shrewdly worded British reservations the Import Duties Advisory Committee chairmanned by hatchet-faced, be-monocled Sir George May can up tariffs to protect any British industry which asked protection before the "truce" was signed.
From Time Magazine Archive
For four years he has chairmanned the Federal Council's Commission on a Just and Durable Peace.
From Time Magazine Archive
Before the Appropriations subcommittee chairmanned by Colorado's compact little Senator Adams, Alabama's gift to the drama tossed aside her blue felt hat, perched herself on the table and read a prepared statement.
From Time Magazine Archive
At Yale he played some football, some golf, chairmanned the Yale Graphic.
From Time Magazine Archive
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
