The chairman of a committee, organization, or company is the head of it.
Glyn Ford is chairman of the Committee which produced the report. [+ of]
I had done business with the company's chairman.
Synonyms: director, president, chief, executive More Synonyms of chairman
2. countable noun
The chairman of a meeting or debate is the person in charge, who decides when each person is allowed to speak.
The chairman declared the meeting open.
I hear you, Mr. Chairman.
Synonyms: master or mistress of ceremonies, spokesperson, chair, speaker More Synonyms of chairman
chairman in British English
(ˈtʃɛəmən)
nounWord forms: plural-men
1. Also called: chairperson or (fem) 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
▶ 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
Derived forms
chairmanship (ˈchairmanˌship)
noun
chairman in American English
(ˈtʃɛrmən)
nounWord forms: pluralˈchairmen (ˈtʃɛrmən)
1.
a person who presides at a meeting or heads a committee, board, etc.
2.
a man whose work is to carry or wheel people in a chair
verb transitiveWord forms: ˈchairmaned or ˈchairmanned, ˈchairmaning or ˈchairmanning
3.
to preside over as chairman
Derived forms
chairmanship (ˈchairmanˌship)
noun
COBUILD Collocations
chairman
appoint a chairman
become chairman
chairman designate
Examples of 'chairman' in a sentence
chairman
My constituency chairman sticks his head around the door.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
At the time the company was headed by two chairmen and three executive committees.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
His first board meeting as chairman is in a few months and the hot topic will be the building.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Has the company chairman been in recently to thank you for your loyal support, sacrificing your health for the company?
Vera Peiffer POSITIVE THINKING: Everything you have always known about positive thinking but wereafraid to put into practice (2001)
In that case, the person who raised the objection goes out of the meeting with the chairman to explain his concerns.
Christianity Today (2000)
This definition covers the president of a country, a principal of a school, or the chairman of a company.
Siann, Gerda & Ugwuegbu, Denis C. E. Educational Psychology in a Changing World (1988)
He stepped down as FA chairman and as head of the 2018 bid.
The Sun (2010)
A spokesman said: 'We are looking to hold a meeting with the chairman as soon as possible to discuss this unsatisfactory situation.
The Sun (2014)
In other languages
chairman
British English: chairman /ˈtʃɛəmən/ NOUN
The chairman of a meeting or organization is the person in charge of it.
He is chairman of the committee which produced the report.
American English: chairman
Arabic: رَئِيس
Brazilian Portuguese: presidente
Chinese: 主席
Croatian: predsjedatelj
Czech: předseda
Danish: formand
Dutch: voorzitter
European Spanish: presidente comité
Finnish: puheenjohtaja
French: président
German: Vorsitzender
Greek: πρόεδρος
Italian: presidente
Japanese: 議長
Korean: 의장
Norwegian: styreformann
Polish: przewodniczący
European Portuguese: presidente
Romanian: președinte
Russian: председатель
Latin American Spanish: presidente
Swedish: ordförande
Thai: ประธานกรรมการ
Turkish: başkan
Ukrainian: голова
Vietnamese: chủ tịch
All related terms of 'chairman'
vice-chairman
a person who deputizes for a chairman and serves in his or her place during his or her absence or indisposition
become chairman
The chairman of a committee , organization, or company is the head of it.
board chairman
the chairman of the board of a company, etc
chairman designate
The chairman of a committee , organization, or company is the head of it.
executive chairman
the most senior internal position within a company , combining the duties of chairman and chief executive
appoint a chairman
The chairman of a committee , organization, or company is the head of it.
department chairman
the chairman of a university department
chairman of the board
the chief officer of a business corporation , elected by its board of directors and charged with the supervision and management of high-level affairs of the company, as making corporate policy or approving actions of the president and vice presidents
a person who is in charge of a company's board of directors or a meeting
I had done business with the company's chairwoman.
Synonyms
director
He is the director of the unit.
president
the president of the new company
chief
The new leader is the deputy chief of the territory's defence force.
executive
a senior bank executive
chairperson
chair
2 (noun)
Definition
a person who is in charge of a company's board of directors or a meeting
The chairman declared the meeting open.
Synonyms
master or mistress of ceremonies
spokesperson
chair
speaker
presider
MC
Usage note
The general trend of nonsexist language is to find a term which can apply to both sexes equally, as in the use of actor to refer to both men and women. Chairman can seem inappropriate when applied to a woman, while chairwoman specifies gender, therefore the terms chair and chairperson are often preferred as alternatives.
Additional synonyms
in the sense of chief
Definition
most important
The new leader is the deputy chief of the territory's defence force.
Synonyms
head,
leader,
director,
manager,
lord,
boss (informal),
captain,
master,
governor,
commander,
principal,
superior,
ruler,
superintendent,
chieftain,
ringleader,
suzerain,
ariki (New Zealand),
sherang (Australian, New Zealand)
in the sense of executive
Definition
a person or group responsible for the administration of a project or business