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Glite Dictionary
chairperson

chairperson

15 3.5
A person who leads a meeting, committee, or organization
  • noun
  • /ˈtʃɛrˌpɜrsən/
translation icon : presidente
  • Individual departments often make a conscious effort to select a chairperson based upon the candidate's teaching record.
  • department chairperson
  • committee chairperson
  • role of the chairperson

And I don't know if it is the place of the chairperson of the SEC to determine what society wants.

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Examples

  • Designate one of the senators as chairperson of the Senate Transportation Committee, representing District 3.

    Academic text (1992)

  • The authority to allocate resources is the most visible of the chairperson's levers of power.

    Academic text (1991)

  • David, you know I'm chairperson of the board.

    Highest 2 Lowest (2025)

  • And she's chairperson of the US India Business Council.

  • Both students, according to the chairperson, thought their instructors were outstanding reading professors.

    Academic text (1991)

  • In some college settings, minority students seek graduate opportunities through department chairpersons and placement activities sponsored by minority organizations on campus.

    Academic text (2012)

  • Tomorrow sees the long-awaited appearance of Mrs. Winnie Mandela, former chairperson of the ANC Women's League.

    Winnie Mandela (2011)

  • Barbara Bradley announced that Diane Smith is the chairperson of the Arlington County School Board.

  • David confirmed that he is the chairperson of the board for the upcoming meeting.

  • Barnes is campaigning to become the next chairperson of the Michigan Democratic Party.

Synonyms

chairman
vschairperson
∞ 3.2

A person who leads meetings of a board or committee

is the gender-neutral term for the same presiding position
chair
vschairperson
258 3.1

A person who leads a meeting or committee

is the longer gender-neutral formal title rather than the short form
president
vschairperson
133 2.5

A person who leads meetings of an organization or committee

is mainly the meeting presiding role without implying overall leadership
moderator
vschairperson
104 3.9

A person who leads a discussion to keep it fair

is the overall presider who also holds wider organizational duties
chairwoman
vschairperson
25 3.2

A woman who leads a meeting, committee, or organization

is the gender-neutral title rather than a gender-specific form
chairman of the board
vschairperson
22 3.7

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

is the general presiding role across meetings, not limited to boards
presiding officer
vschairperson
  • Formal
3 6.1

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

is a general title for the presiding role beyond procedure focus
presider
vschairperson
1 7.3

A person who leads a meeting, ceremony, or event

is the standard official title rather than a casual descriptor

Compounds

vice chairperson
4.3

A person who helps the chairperson and takes charge when they are absent

How Involved

chairperson
15 3.5
conferrer
  • Formal
7.8
discussant
  • Jargon
1 8.0
participant
295 2.4
attendee
68 3.0
observer
305 2.8

Surface Forms

chairperson singular
chairpersons plural

Morphology

chairperson = chair + person (transparent) = chair + person

Meaning is directly deducible as 'a person who chairs' formed by productive compounding of two common nouns.

Etymology

Chairperson comes from chair ('seat') because the meeting leader sat in the important seat, and person was added to make the title neutral instead of 'chairman'. So, a chairperson is the person who leads a meeting or committee.