chairman

American  

[chair-muhn] / ˈtʃɛər mən /

noun

plural

chairmen

1. the presiding officer of a meeting, committee, board, etc.

2. the administrative head of a department in a high school, college, or university.

3. someone employed to carry or wheel a person in a chair.

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verb (used with object)

chairmaned, chairmanned, chairmaning, chairmanning

1. to act as or be chairman of (a meeting, committee, etc.).

chairman British  

/ ˈtʃɛəmən /

noun

1. Also called: chairperson.   chairwoman.  a person who presides over a company's board of directors, a committee, a debate, an administrative department, etc

2. history someone who carries a sedan chair

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Usage

Chairman can seem inappropriate when applied to a woman, while chairwoman can be offensive. Chair and chairperson can be applied to either a man or a woman; chair is generally preferred to chairperson

Gender

Is it chairman, chairwoman, or chairperson? See chairperson.

Other Word Forms

• chairmanship noun

Etymology

Origin of chairman

First recorded in 1645–55; chair + -man

Example Sentences

Tran Thanh Man, chairman of the National Assembly, said the party chief had received 180 out of 180 votes to remain in the top job.

From Barron's

Wilson later apologized for the remarks, which offended some customers, and stepped down as chairman of Lululemon’s board.

From MarketWatch

It plans to recommend that he be appointed chairman, the people said.

From The Wall Street Journal

He is still Amazon's executive chairman after stepping down in 2021 as its chief executive.

From BBC

Rep. James Comer, the committee’s chairman, said Tuesday that the Clintons had offered to speak only to him and the Democratic ranking Member, and only if no transcript was recorded.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• administrator
• chairperson
• chairwoman
• director
• leader
• spokesman