chaperone

American  

[shap-uh-rohn] / ˈʃæp əˌroʊn /

Or chaperon

noun

• chaperones
  plural

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

Derived Forms

• chaperonage
  noun
• chaperonless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• chaperones
  plural

Etymology

Origin of chaperone

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)

Explanation

High school dances always have at least one chaperone to keep an eye on things. A chaperone is someone who looks after and supervises another person or a group of people. Chaperone can also be spelled chaperon, without the e. It originally meant a woman whose duty was to accompany a younger woman and make sure she wasn't harmed and didn't get into trouble, especially when she was with a man. These days, chaperone is most often used to describe an adult who supervises a group of kids or teenagers. The Old English meaning was "protective hood or head covering," and today the word chaperone retains that "protective" quality.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chaperone chaperones

As the company spread across the U.S., it maintained rules for decades: Kids were allowed only with a chaperone age 25 or older, and adults could tote along just three total kids.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

Arginine also acts as a safe chemical chaperone, helping proteins maintain their proper structure.

From Science Daily ● May 4, 2026

When Simpson was in elementary school, the UT-Martin coaches assigned one of their graduate assistants to chaperone him during practices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 2, 2025

Following a review in February 2018, the committee decided the chaperone must not be related to him.

From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2025

Dad acted as chaperone whenever the pressure of business permitted.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

Kleiman said many adults rent short-term rentals for young people but then do not accompany them as chaperones.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026

In Milford, Conn., Anthony Martiro, manager of the Innogoodshop, which sells trendy Asian tchotchkes and snacks, said chaperones have reduced the “mischief, mayhem and stealing” previously caused by groups of teenagers wandering the mall.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

James Cockayne, an Australian anti-slavery official, tells us there are “concerns that the women are being accompanied by chaperones and minders from the Iranian regime who are controlling their ability to move and speak freely.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026

And so there we were, standing like two prom chaperones in a long line of women all younger and thinner by comparison.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 14, 2025

“Nope. Just sat in a folding chair next to the chaperones all night. Hung out with some guys doing layups on the other side of the gym. But no dancing.”

From "Dumplin'" by Julie Murphy

Related Words

• matron