chaperone

Or chap·er·on

[shap-uh-rohn]

noun

1. a person, usually a married or older woman, who, for propriety, accompanies a young unmarried woman in public or who attends a party of young unmarried men and women.

   Synonyms: escort

2. any adult present in order to maintain order or propriety at an activity of young people, as at a school dance.

3. a round headdress of stuffed cloth with wide cloth streamers that fall from the crown or are draped around it, worn in the 15th century.

verb (used with object)

1. to attend or accompany as chaperone.

   Synonyms: escort

verb (used without object)

1. to act as chaperone.

Other Word Forms

• chaperonage noun
• chaperonless adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of chaperone¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Middle French: “hood, cowl,” equivalent to chape cape ¹ + -eron noun suffix; figurative sense from French (18th century)

Example Sentences

Now, women in Afghanistan are banned from attending school beyond the age of 12, getting most jobs, unable to travel long distances without a male chaperone, and required not to raise their voices in public.

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His wife at the time, Monika Bawa, then a registered physiotherapist, acted as his chaperone from this point in his private clinic, which was agreed by the Interim Orders Investigating Committee.

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Beattie said "a chaperoning system" could be introduced for certain prisoners being considered for day release.

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“They are learning the building blocks. They are being the change that needs to be seen,” said chaperone Julio Roman, dad to a 6- and 9-year-old on the trip.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

These include having chaperones in all rehearsal rooms, adding two new welfare producers and providing additional training for the professional dancers, production team and crew.

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Related Words

• matron