chairperson

American  

[chair-pur-suhn] / ˈtʃɛərˌpɜr sən /

noun

1. a person who presides over a meeting, committee, board, etc.

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

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chairperson British  

/ ˈtʃɛəˌpɜːsən /

noun

1. another word for chairman

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Gender

Chairperson has, since the 1960s, come to be used widely as an alternative to either chairman or chairwoman. This change was motivated largely by a desire to avoid chairman, which was felt to be inappropriate and even sexually discriminatory when applied to a woman. Chairperson is standard in all varieties of speech and writing. Despite such widespread acceptance, some organizations and publications do not use chairperson at all, usually on the grounds that it is awkward and that chairman is a well-established generic term. Many style guides advocate use of the term chair to designate the presiding officer, thus avoiding charges of both sexism and awkwardness: Jim will be chair of the entertainment committee this year, and Jane will be chair next year. See also -man, -person, -woman.

Other Word Forms

• chairpersonship noun

Etymology

Origin of chairperson

First recorded in 1970–75; chair(man) + -person

Example Sentences

“The Block family has worked to find the best possible source for responsible local journalism for the Pittsburgh region and we believe we have succeeded,” said Karen Johnese, chairperson of Block Communications.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 14, 2026

In addition, Taiwan’s opposition leader Cheng Li-wun arrived in China this week for a “peace mission” at Xi’s invitation, the first visit by a Kuomintang chairperson to the mainland in a decade.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 9, 2026

Sherry Allen, chairperson of Fulton County Elections Board, said last week that federal officials had denied her request to make copies of the documents.

From Barron's • Feb. 4, 2026

"We believed we were doing injustice by not giving visually impaired women the same opportunities as the men," said Mahantesh GK, CABI's chairperson.

From BBC • Nov. 21, 2025

Late that night—two a.m.—my house chairperson pounded on my door and yelled that I had a phone call.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt