chauffeur

American  

[shoh-fer, shoh-fur] / ˈʃoʊ fər, ʃoʊˈfɜr /

noun

• chauffeurs
  plural

1. a person employed to drive a private automobile or limousine for the owner.

2. a person employed to drive a car or limousine that transports paying passengers.

---

verb (used with object)

• chauffeurs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• chauffeured,
  past participle,  past
• chauffeuring
  present participle

1. to drive (a vehicle) as a chauffeur.

2. to transport by car.

   Saturday mornings I have to chauffeur the kids to their music lessons.

verb (used without object)

• chauffeurs,
  present (3rd person singular)
• chauffeured,
  past participle,  past
• chauffeuring
  present participle

1. to work as a chauffeur.

   He chauffeured for a time right after the war.

chauffeur British  

/ ˈʃəʊfə, ʃəʊˈfɜː /

noun

1. a person employed to drive a car

---

verb

1. to act as driver for (a person)

   he chauffeured me to the stadium

   he chauffeurs for the Duke

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• chauffeuse
  noun
• unchauffeured
  adjective
• well-chauffeured
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• chauffeurs
  plural

Participles

• chauffeuring
  present
• chauffeured
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• chauffeur
  simple
• chauffeurs
  simple
• have chauffeured
  perfect
• has chauffeured
  perfect
• am chauffeuring
  progressive
• are chauffeuring
  progressive
• is chauffeuring
  progressive
• have been chauffeuring
  perfect progressive
• has been chauffeuring
  perfect progressive

Past

• chauffeured
  simple
• had chauffeured
  perfect
• was chauffeuring
  progressive
• were chauffeuring
  progressive
• had been chauffeuring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will chauffeur
  simple
• will have chauffeured
  perfect
• will be chauffeuring
  progressive
• will have been chauffeuring
  perfect progressive

---

Etymology

Origin of chauffeur

1895–1900; < French, equivalent to chauff(er ) to heat ( see chafe) + -eur -eur

---

Explanation

Do you pay someone to drive you around? Then you have a private chauffeur. Chauffeur literally means "operator of a steam engine" in French, but they used it as a nickname for the first motorists who drove steam engine cars. Today chauffeurs are just the guys you pay to drive you around, like the chauffeur of a limo. Chauffeur can also be used as a verb: once you get your driver's license, your parents will be happy to not have to chauffeur you back and forth to school.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

chauffeur chauffeurs chauffeured chauffeuring

Sami is an IT manager, chauffeur and ticket reseller in addition to his social-media-influencer aspirations, which seem to be built around his proximity to famous faces.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

His father worked as a chauffeur and mechanic for the family that lived in the large house in front of their home, where his mother sometimes cooked.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

Done up in a luscious dark-red paint scheme, it has a removable roof over the front seats, putting your chauffeur out in the elements while you sit in back, away from prying eyes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 16, 2026

Nevertheless, the unseen chauffeur cues “Billie Jean” again on the stereo.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 2, 2026

The chauffeur came out, folding up the papers and putting them in the inside pocket of his coat.

From "The Sun Also Rises" by Ernest Hemingway

Gisele, the sister who chauffeurs Zoe to practice in Santa Clarita, agrees.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 30, 2026

Right-side steering wheels placed chauffeurs closer to the curb to open passenger doors; Ford was marketing to middle-class buyers who would drive themselves.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 21, 2026

"They paid for all my hotels, chauffeurs... to allow me to perform the job that I did," she said.

From BBC ● Apr. 13, 2026

John Lennon, who in life was such a terrible driver that he hired chauffeurs for the safety of those around him, is in command of the main spaceship.

From Salon ● Dec. 4, 2023

There had been many barbecues with the driveway lined with cars and a troop of chauffeurs under the palm trees exchanging news and gossip.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Infantino arrived at Fifa's offices in Rabat, Morocco on Wednesday in now-familiar fashion, chauffeured to the building in a motorcade, sitting in the back of a Mercedes with blacked out windows.

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

People Magazine published a video of Dunham, who created the series Girls, being chauffeured through Manhattan in a black SUV.

From BBC ● Jul. 3, 2026

A videographer captured Moore throwing $20 bills in the air as he walked through a flower arch and then leaving for prom in a chauffeured Bentley.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 6, 2026

Last year, a top Orlando-area quarterback revealed his move to Edison in a video that showed him traveling to Miami by private plane, where Campbell ushered him into a chauffeured Mercedes.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 10, 2026

The ride is silent, with Tats and me in the back like we’re being chauffeured.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

For instance, the decision allowed Sami to keep certain write-offs, such as most of his car expenses for a chauffeuring service he owns.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 25, 2026

TBR Global Chauffeuring, a luxury chauffeuring company that Lyft acquired last year, saw its strongest month on record in June.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Before long, he was driving 200 miles a week chauffeuring beans.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026

To Los Angeles City Council members searching desperately for cuts amid a budget crisis, the Fire Department’s emergency incident technicians are “drivers” whose main role is chauffeuring battalion chiefs to emergencies.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 13, 2025

“More money in chauffeuring and dog-sitting,” she mumbled.

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---