CHAIR

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does chair mean? 

• CHAIR (noun)
  The noun CHAIR has 5 senses:

1. a seat for one person, with a support for the back

2. the position of professor

3. the officer who presides at the meetings of an organization

4. an instrument of execution by electrocution; resembles an ordinary seat for one person

5. a particular seat in an orchestra

  Familiarity information: CHAIR used as a noun is common.

• CHAIR (verb)
  The verb CHAIR has 2 senses:

1. act or preside as chair, as of an academic department in a university

2. preside over

  Familiarity information: CHAIR used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• CHAIR (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A seat for one person, with a support for the back

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

he put his coat over the back of the chair and sat down

Hypernyms ("chair" is a kind of...):

seat (furniture that is designed for sitting on)

Meronyms (parts of "chair"):

leg (one of the supports for a piece of furniture)

back; backrest (a support that you can lean against while sitting)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chair"):

barber chair (a large fixed adjustable chair in which barbers seat their customers)

wheelchair (a movable chair mounted on large wheels; for invalids or those who cannot walk; frequently propelled by the occupant)

tablet-armed chair (a chair with an arm that has been widened for writing)

swivel chair (a chair that swivels on its base)

side chair; straight chair (a straight-backed chair without arms)

rocker; rocking chair (a chair mounted on rockers)

garden chair; lawn chair (chair left outside for use on a lawn or in a garden)

ladder-back; ladder-back chair (a chair with a ladder-back)

feeding chair; highchair (a chair for feeding a very young child; has four long legs and a footrest and a detachable tray)

folding chair (a chair that can be folded flat for storage)

fighting chair (a fixed chair from which a saltwater angler can fight a hooked fish)

Eames chair (a chair designed by Charles Eames; originally made of molded plywood; seat and back shaped to fit the human body)

chaise; chaise longue; daybed (a long chair; for reclining)

chair of state (a ceremonial chair for an exalted or powerful person)

armchair (chair with a support on each side for arms)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The position of professor

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

chair; professorship

Context example:

he was awarded an endowed chair in economics

Hypernyms ("chair" is a kind of...):

berth; billet; office; place; position; post; situation; spot (a job in an organization)

Sense 3

Meaning:

The officer who presides at the meetings of an organization

Classified under:

Nouns denoting people

Synonyms:

chair; chairman; chairperson; chairwoman; president

Context example:

address your remarks to the chairperson

Hypernyms ("chair" is a kind of...):

presiding officer (the leader of a group meeting)

Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "chair"):

Kalon Tripa (the chairman of the Kashag and essentially head of the Tibetan government-in-exile)

vice chairman (one ranking below or serving in the place of a chairman)

Derivation:

chair (preside over)

chair (act or preside as chair, as of an academic department in a university)

Sense 4

Meaning:

An instrument of execution by electrocution; resembles an ordinary seat for one person

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Synonyms:

chair; death chair; electric chair; hot seat

Context example:

the murderer was sentenced to die in the chair

Hypernyms ("chair" is a kind of...):

instrument of execution (an instrument designed and used to take the life of a condemned person)

Sense 5

Meaning:

A particular seat in an orchestra

Classified under:

Nouns denoting man-made objects

Context example:

he is second chair violin

Hypernyms ("chair" is a kind of...):

seat (any support where you can sit (especially the part of a chair or bench etc. on which you sit))

• CHAIR (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they chair    ... he / she / it chairs   
Past simple: chaired   
Past participle: chaired   
-ing form: chairing   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Act or preside as chair, as of an academic department in a university

Classified under:

Verbs of political and social activities and events

Synonyms:

chair; chairman

Context example:

She chaired the department for many years

Hypernyms (to "chair" is one way to...):

head; lead (be in charge of)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s something

Derivation:

chair (the officer who presides at the meetings of an organization)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Preside over

Classified under:

Verbs of telling, asking, ordering, singing

Synonyms:

chair; lead; moderate

Context example:

John moderated the discussion

Hypernyms (to "chair" is one way to...):

discuss; hash out; talk over (speak with others about (something); talk (something) over in detail; have a discussion)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s
Somebody ----s something

Sentence example:

Sam and Sue chair

Derivation:

chair (the officer who presides at the meetings of an organization)

 Context examples 

I picked up a chair, but Holmes shook his head, and I laid it down again.

(The Return of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

I sat up in my chair, and my wife laid her needle-work down in her lap and made a little face of disappointment.

(The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

A pale, taper-faced man with sandy whiskers rose up from a chair by the fire as we entered.

(The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

He found time to admire the ease with which she sat down, then lurched toward a chair facing her, overwhelmed with consciousness of the awkward figure he was cutting.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

I shot a glance at the woman, but she was leaning back in the arm-chair, her eyes closed, unutterably tired.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

The whirl culminated in a collision with a chair, and the man and woman crashed to the floor in a wild struggling fall that extended itself across half the length of the room.

(Love of Life and Other Stories, by Jack London)

As soon as the door was closed, however, the mask fell from her face, and she sank down into a chair with a great sigh, and hid her eyes with her hand.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Sold it was, however, and carried away in a van; except the bed, a few chairs, and the kitchen table.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

Yet they had not changed their position or pushed back their chairs.

(His Last Bow, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

This brought them to the fireside, where the easy-chair was drawn cosily up, and the tea things stood ready to the sitter’s elbow, the very sugar in the cup.

(The Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson)