chairman

American  

[chair-muhn] / ˈtʃɛər mən /

noun

plural

chairmen

1. the presiding officer of a meeting, committee, board, etc.

2. the administrative head of a department in a high school, college, or university.

3. someone employed to carry or wheel a person in a chair.

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verb (used with object)

chairmaned, chairmanned, chairmaning, chairmanning

1. to act as or be chairman of (a meeting, committee, etc.).

chairman British  

/ ˈtʃɛəmən /

noun

1. Also called: chairperson.   chairwoman.  a person who presides over a company's board of directors, a committee, a debate, an administrative department, etc

2. history someone who carries a sedan chair

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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

• chairmanship noun

Etymology

Origin of chairman

First recorded in 1645–55; chair + -man

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.

Example Sentences

Business has been “crazy,” said executive chairman Dave Cote, who in a previous life ran Honeywell.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026

Ned succeeded his own father, Fidelity’s founder, as chairman and had nodded in approval as Abby climbed toward the family business’s top job.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

The company also said that co-founder and chairman of the board Reed Hastings would be stepping down—although history suggests the departure of an influential figure shouldn’t cause a tech stock to tank.

From Barron's • Apr. 17, 2026

"A number of butterflies have been lost on the Quantocks over the past 75 years," said Robin Stamp, chairman of the group.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

I’ll always remember a news conference that Microsoft chairman Bill Gates held at the 1999 World Economic Forum in Davos, at the height of the tech bubble.

From "The World Is Flat" by Thomas L. Friedman

Related Words

• administrator
• chairperson
• chairwoman
• director
• leader
• spokesman