chairperson

[ chair-pur-suhn ]

noun

1. a person who presides over a meeting, committee, board, etc.
2. the administrative head of a department in a high school, college, or university.

chairperson

/ ˈtʃɛəˌpɜːsən /

noun

1. another word for chairman

Usage

See chairman

Gender Note

Chairperson has, since the 1960s, come to be used widely as an alternative to either chairman or chairwoman. This change was motivated largely by a desire to avoid chairman, which was felt to be inappropriate and even sexually discriminatory when applied to a woman. Chairperson is standard in all varieties of speech and writing. Despite such widespread acceptance, some organizations and publications do not use chairperson at all, usually on the grounds that it is awkward and that chairman is a well-established generic term. Many style guides advocate use of the term chair to designate the presiding officer, thus avoiding charges of both sexism and awkwardness: Jim will be chair of the entertainment committee this year, and Jane will be chair next year. -man, -person, -woman.

Other Words From

• chairperson·ship noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of chairperson¹

First recorded in 1970–75; chair(man) + -person

Example Sentences

In February, just weeks after the presidential inauguration in Washington, Africa’s leaders will meet in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to elect a new chairperson of the AU Commission.

From BBC

The outgoing chairperson, Chad's former Prime Minister Moussa Faki Mahamat, was content to be a trader in the political bazaar of the Trump-Biden years.

From BBC

She said an interim chairperson had been appointed.

From BBC

Sinn Féin National Chairperson Declan Kearney said in a statement that the party whip had also been removed from Magee.

From BBC

“We’re looking into doing more fresh seafood,” says chairperson, Michael Binzer.

From BBC