chauffeur
Americannoun
-
a person employed to drive a private automobile or limousine for the owner.
-
a person employed to drive a car or limousine that transports paying passengers.
verb (used with object)
-
to drive (a vehicle) as a chauffeur.
-
to transport by car.
Saturday mornings I have to chauffeur the kids to their music lessons.
verb (used without object)
noun
verb
Other Word Forms
- chauffeuse noun
- unchauffeured adjective
- well-chauffeured adjective
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.
Vocabulary lists containing chauffeur
English Words Derived from French, List 3
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List 10
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A Confederacy of Dunces
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
As a young chauffeur, Bennett had all sorts of driving duties.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 12, 2026
His parents worked for a wealthy family, his mother as a cook and his father as a chauffeur.
From BBC • Mar. 17, 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
As someone who dislikes being behind the wheel, the idea of having him chauffeur me around tipped the scales in his favor.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 4, 2025
"This is all right. What happens when you turn pro? You get a Cadillac and a chauffeur?"
From "The Contender" by Robert Lipsyte
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
