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chairman

[ chair-muhn ]

Phonetic (Standard)IPA

noun

plural chairmen.

the presiding officer of a meeting, committee, board, etc.
the administrative head of a department in a high school, college, or university.
someone employed to carry or wheel a person in a chair.

verb (used with object)

chairmaned or chairmanned, chairmaning or chairmanning.

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

chairman

/ ˈ��ʃɛə��ə�� /

noun

Also calledchairpersonfemchairwoman a person who presides over a company's board of directors, a committee, a debate, an administrative department, etc
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

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Gender Note

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

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Derived Forms

ˈ��󲹾��ˌ��󾱱�, noun

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Word History and Origins

Origin of chairman¹

First recorded in 1645–55; chair + -man

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Example Sentences

Examples have not been reviewed.

Last month in a Sunday Times interview, the corporation's chairman suggested wealthier households could be charged more.

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English Football League chairman Rick Parry has been an advocate for an independent regulator, but the Premier League fears it could impact on competitiveness and investment.

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Post Office chairman Nigel Railton has said a new IT system would not be introduced in one "big bang" but there would be gradual changes.

From

However, POA chairman Mark Fairhurst told the BBC he did not believe a trial was necessary and called for their use to be rolled out "before one of my members is murdered".

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Burnley chairman Alan Pace described Parker as a "living legend" who has "outperformed anything he could have possibly said" before he was hired.

From

Related Words

chairlift chairman of the board

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