Skip to main content
chairman

chairman

3.2
A person who leads meetings of a board or committee
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃɛrˌmæn/
translation icon : presidente
  • And you're going to be the chairman of the Iraqi National Congress.
  • vice chairman
  • committee chairman
  • Mr. chairman

The guy controlling it, Chairman Powell, he has no idea.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Gilman, who continued to press for State Department reform, had become chairman of the House International Affairs Committee.

    Academic text (2011)
  • I'm Dick Army and I am the current chairman of Freedom Works.

  • So thank you, Chairman, for the presentation.

  • I happen to be the chairman.

  • And as the obvious chairman, I introduce myself.

  • Yes, Bill Hunt, who is chairman of the Japan Society of Boston.

  • She has been chairman of the board for 5 years.

  • Again, David is the CEO and chairman of Gold Royalty Corporation.

  • John is the former chairman of Citicorp and Citibank.

  • The committee chairman led the discussion on the new policy changes.

Synonyms

chair
vschairman
258 3.1

A person who leads a meeting or committee

is the longer traditional term usually implying a man
moderator
vschairman
104 3.9

A person who leads a discussion to keep it fair

refers to the official who leads meetings beyond discussion control
chairwoman
vschairman
25 3.2

A woman who leads a meeting, committee, or organization

is the traditional term that typically refers to a man
chairperson
vschairman
15 3.5

A person who leads a meeting, committee, or organization

is the traditional term that typically refers to a man
presiding officer
vschairman
  • Formal
3 6.1

A person who leads a meeting and makes sure it runs correctly

is mainly a gendered title for that same leadership role
co-chair
vschairman
3.5

A person who shares the job of leading a committee or meeting with another person

names a single leader usually held by one person

Compounds

A person who leads a board that makes important decisions for a company

16 3.5

A person who helps the chair of a board and stands in when needed

1 3.7

A person who shares the job of leading a group or committee

Surface Forms

chairman singular
chairmen plural

Morphology

chairman = chair + man (transparent) = chair + man

Formed as a straightforward compound 'chair' + 'man' meaning 'person who chairs'; the meaning is directly derivable though 'man' can carry a gendered nuance.

Etymology

Chairman comes from chair meaning 'a seat' and man meaning 'a male person'. It originally meant the person who sat in the chair to lead a meeting, which is why a chairman is the meeting leader.