president

American  

[prez-i-duhnt] / ˈprɛz ɪ dənt /

noun

• presidents
  plural

1. the highest executive officer of a modern republic, as the chief executive of the United States.

   sworn in as the 56th president of Mexico.

2. an officer appointed or elected to preside over an organized body of persons.

3. the chief officer of a college, university, society, corporation, etc.

4. a person who presides.

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president British  

/ ˈprɛzɪdənt /

noun

1. (often capital) the chief executive or head of state of a republic, esp of the US

2. (in the US) the chief executive officer of a company, corporation, etc

3. a person who presides over an assembly, meeting, etc

4. the chief executive officer of certain establishments of higher education

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• presidentship
  noun
• presidential
  adjective
• presidentially
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• presidents
  plural

Etymology

Origin of president

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English, from Latin praesident- (stem of praesidēns ), noun use of present participle of praesidēre “to preside over, sit in front of”; see preside, -ent

Explanation

The president is the person officially in charge — whether it’s of a republic, a company, a college, or a fan club. This is a word for a leader, like the President of the United States or the president of the National Football League Players' Union. Many organizations have presidents, and they're usually elected by members of that group. When it’s followed by a name, the title president gets a capital p, as in President Obama. Whether with a P or p, the job of a president is to preside in a formal or official capacity.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

president presidents

The response targets various alcoholic drinks and dairy products like whey, according to a series of White House statements signed by the president.

From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026

What’s less clear is whether its president, Christine Lagarde, will signal even more restrictive policy in the months to come or whether she will tack a more cautious, non-committal course.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 9, 2026

Sisitsky is currently president at TPG, having spent more than two decades at the U.S. private-equity firm.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 9, 2026

Davis began his career at Columbia Records as assistant counsel in the 1960s before rising through the ranks to become president of the record label at age 35.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

As Sam Macdonald, the president of the underwater robotics company Deep Trekker, has stated, “The technologies available now, even compared to five or six years ago, are incredible.”

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

At the committee's last meeting in July, three regional Fed presidents dissented from the decision to hold rates steady, calling for an immediate 0.25 percentage-point hike to tackle inflation.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

But in most of those earlier cases, presidents at least hid behind principle.

From Slate ● Aug. 31, 2026

Tributes have poured in from US presidents across the political spectrum and musicians across all genres, remembering her not just for her award-winning career, but her philanthropy and humble nature that transcended country music.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

There is a long history of presidents engaging in construction and renovation projects on the White House and its grounds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026

Time and time again, military leaders told presidents what it would take to win.

From "Most Dangerous: Daniel Ellsberg and the Secret History of the Vietnam War" by Steve Sheinkin