chair Hear it!

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chair definition

chair (c̸her)

noun

  1. a piece of furniture for one person to sit on, having a back and, usually, four legs
  2. a seat of authority or dignity
  3. the position of a player in an instrumental section of a symphony orchestra
  4. an important or official position, as a professorship or chairmanship
  5. a person who presides over a meeting; chairman address your remarks to the chair
  6. sedan chair
  7. ☆ electric chair

Etymology: ME & OFr chaire < L cathedra: see cathedra

transitive verb

  1. to place in a chair; seat
  2. to place in authority
  3. to preside over as chairman
  4. Brit. to carry (a person) aloft in public triumph on, or as though on, a chair
chair Idioms

take the chair

to preside as chairman

Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Alternate definitions:

idioms chair idiom

chair Synonyms

chair

n.

  1. A single seat

    seat, stool, bench, armchair, place, room, space, throne, cathedra; see also bench 1, couch, furniture, seat 1.

    Types of chairs include: stool, taboret, throne, faldstool, footstool, rocker, recliner, ottoman, wing chair, armchair, easy chair, wheel chair, highchair, roundabout; curule, bath, occasional, dining-room, desk, office, kitchen, lounge, beach, deck, lawn, period, portable, sedan, reclining, rocking, captain's, swivel, folding, bentwood, cane-seated, split-bottom; Duncan Phyfe, Hepplewhite, Breuer, Cromwell, Windsor, Morris, Queen Anne, X-legged Barcelona, Eames, S-squared Tugend hat, S-curved Brno.

  2. A position of authority

    seat, chairmanship, directorship, headship, throne, bench, position, endowed chair, professorship, tutorage, instructorship, readership, professorate, fellowship, tutorship; see also authority 3.

  3. A person who presides

    chairman, chairwoman, chairperson, president, director, head, presiding officer, presider, administrator, toastmaster, speaker, moderator, prolocutor, monitor, leader, principal, captain, master of ceremonies, MC, emcee*; see also administrator.

  4. A death sentence; usually used with the

    execution, electric chair, electrocution, death chair, hot seat*, hot squat*, a burning*, Sing Sing siesta*; see also execution 2.

take the chair

chair, preside, act as chair, moderate; see manage 1.


Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

chair Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • recline: You will then be able to sit in a reclining chair in the sitting room.

Adjective modifier

  • comfy: Comfy Chair: Very important if you want to be comfortable all day.

Modifies a noun

  • lift: To the right a heap of bricks remained where once stood the chair lift station.

Noun used with modifier

  • vise: Vise chair of House of Commons Human Rights Committee.

Possessives

  • dentist: Two good things happened within the dentist's chair.

Preposition: of

  • governor: In this case, the chair of governors should conduct the assessment.
chair usage examples (more)

The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.

chair quotes

A chair should be judged by one's pants, a jewel by the light in a lady's eyes, a typewriter by the hovering fingers.

-Anonymous

Miss Bolo rose from thetable considerablyagitated, and went straight home, ina flood of tears, and a sedan chair.

-Dickens, CharlesJohn Huffam

The Chair she sat in, like a burnished throne, Glowed on the marble. See Shakespeare 764:23.

-Eliot,T(homas) S(tearns)

chair quotes (more)

Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

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MLA Style

"chair." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009

  • Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
  • <www.yourdictionary.com/chair>

APA Style

chair. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary

  • Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/chair

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