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.

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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, ʃəʊˈfɜːz, ʃəʊˈfɜː /

noun

1. a person employed to drive a car

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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

The man needs a chauffeur more than group therapy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 4, 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

Max realized that he needed to scramble back into the car, because the chauffeur was going to come back.

From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix

The business, which also offered customers access to jets, homes and chauffeurs, gained a loyal following among local rappers and social media influencers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 24, 2026

He chauffeurs them around in a rental minivan.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 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

Catering companies, party planners, chauffeurs, banquet workers, florists and spray tanners count on the show to generate a significant part of their winter income.

From New York Times ● Jan. 10, 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

What you get: TSA with no lines and other amenities including massages and being chauffeured to your commercial plane.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026

Matt Barnes, the founder of a company that helps people find chauffeured vehicles, said that rumblings about gates going up on North Bay played into his decision to invest there last year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 24, 2025

Maybe next Cannes, he’ll be the one getting fêted and chauffeured.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 18, 2025

Gray, whose portfolio includes sport, has been under fire after it emerged he had been chauffeured to six football matches at Hampden since becoming a minister, four of which included the team he supports.

From BBC ● Nov. 17, 2024

They rolled up to the precinct in a chauffeured town car.

From "Burning Blue" by Paul Griffin

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

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

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 10, 2026

Stephen, who was 75 at the time, was chauffeuring his Toyota Camry for his older brother Richard, then 76, taking him around town on a visit from Minnesota.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 12, 2025

The technology went from a perpetual “six months away” to chauffeuring masses of riders this year as both companies gathered experience in pilot cities and used that knowledge to expand to others.

From Slate ● Aug. 4, 2023

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

From "Millionaires for the Month" by Stacey McAnulty