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definitions

chauffeur

[shoh-fer, shoh-fur]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR chauffeur ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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)

to work as a chauffeur: He chauffeured for a time right after the war.

Origin of chauffeur

1895–1900; < French, equivalent to chauff(er) to heat (see chafe) + -eur -eur
Related formsun·chauf·feured, adjectivewell-chauf·feured, adjective
Can be confusedchauffeur shofar
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for chauffeur

cabdriver

Examples from the Web for chauffeur

Contemporary Examples of chauffeur

Historical Examples of chauffeur

  • "Layin' a stone—or somethin'—my lady," said the chauffeur in a puzzled voice.

    The Coryston Family

    Mrs. Humphry Ward

  • The chauffeur took his seat and looked around at Bob, waiting.

    Sure Pop and the Safety Scouts

    Roy Rutherford Bailey

  • The chauffeur was busied with his car fiddling with the machinery.

    A Nest of Spies

    Pierre Souvestre

  • The chauffeur smiled approval, while continuing to tinker at his machine.

    A Nest of Spies

    Pierre Souvestre

  • The chauffeur began to supply the wants of his machine with the help of an apprentice.

    A Nest of Spies

    Pierre Souvestre

British Dictionary definitions for chauffeur

chauffeur

noun

a person employed to drive a car

verb

to act as driver for (a person)he chauffeured me to the stadium; he chauffeurs for the Duke
Derived Formschauffeuse (ʃəʊˈfɜːz), fem n

Word Origin for chauffeur

C20: from French, literally: stoker, from chauffer to heat
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for chauffeur
n.

1896, originally "a motorist," from French chauffeur, literally "stoker," operator of a steam engine, French nickname for early motorists, from chauffer "to heat," from Old French chaufer "to heat, warm up; to become hot" (see chafe). The first motor-cars were steam-driven. Sense of "professional or paid driver of a private motor car" is from 1902.

The '95 Duryea wagon, which won the Chicago contest Fall, was exhibited at the Detroit Horse Show last week. Charles B. King, treasurer of the American Motor League, acted as "chauffeur," as the French say. ["The Horseless Age," April 1896]
v.

1902, from chauffeur (n.). Related: Chauffeured; chauffeuring.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper