chairperson

noun

chair·​per·​son ˈcher-ˌpər-sᵊn 

plural chairpersons

1

: the presiding officer of a meeting, organization, committee, or event

2

: the administrative officer of a department of instruction (as in a college)

Synonyms

• chair
• chairman
• moderator
• president
• presider
• prolocutor
• speaker

Examples of chairperson in a Sentence

A new chairperson for the committee has not yet been appointed.

the chairperson will determine the order in which people will speak

Recent Examples on the Web

The caller IDs appeared to come from Kathy Sullivan, the former chairperson of the New Hampshire Democratic Party, who was running a pro-Biden write-in campaign at the time. —Michael Dorgan, Fox News, 18 Feb. 2025

Photos contained in the indictment show Medina, a former chairperson of the city Board of Correction, allegedly accepting an envelope of cash from Hu at one of the hotels used to house people released from jail during the pandemic. —Chris Sommerfeldt, New York Daily News, 13 Feb. 2025

Yet the committee that oversees insurance in the state Senate currently lacks a chairperson. —Anabel Sosa, Los Angeles Times, 10 Jan. 2025

Campbell had served as chairperson, with Bianka Hellmich and Veronica Chou serving as directors. —Samantha Conti, WWD, 6 Feb. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1899, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for chairperson

• layperson
• salesperson
• businessperson
• person
• worsen

Kids Definition

chairperson

noun

chair·​per·​son -ˌpər-sən 

: chair sense 2c