chair

1. [countable] a piece of furniture for one person to sit on, which has a back, a seat, and four legs:
   • a kitchen chair
   • They bought a new table and chairs.
   • One of the chair legs was broken.
  on/in a chair
   • She was sitting on a wooden chair.
   • He sat back in his chair.
2. [singular] the position of being in charge of a meeting or committee, or the person who is in charge of it:
   • Address your questions to the chair, please.
  be in the chair
   • Who will be in the chair at tomorrow’s meeting?
  chair of
   • He was nominated as chair of the board of governors.
3. [countable] the position of being a university professor
  chair of
   • a new Chair of Medicine
4. the chair American English informal the electric chair
     • • •

COLLOCATIONS■ verbs

   ▪ sit in/on a chair • She sat in her favourite chair.
   ▪ pull/draw up a chair (=move a chair nearer someone or something) • Pull up a chair and look at these pictures.
   ▪ take a chair (=sit down in one in a particular place) • Brian took a chair beside his wife.
   ▪ lean back in your chair • He leant back in his chair and took out his pipe.
   ▪ sink/slump/flop into a chair (=sit down in one in a tired or unhappy way) • Greg groaned and sank into his chair.
   ▪ collapse in/into a chair (=sit down suddenly because you are very tired or upset) • Eileen collapsed into a chair and burst out crying.
   ▪ get up from your chair (also rise from your chair formal) • He got up from his chair and walked to the window.
   ▪ jump up from your chair (=get up quickly) • ‘Look at the time!’ she cried, jumping up from her chair.
   ▪ push back your chair (=in order to get up) • He pushed back his chair and stood up.
   ▪ lounge in a chair (=sit in one in a very relaxed way) • Everyone was outside, lounging in chairs in the sun.

■ adjectives

   ▪ a comfortable chair (also a comfy chair informal) • The hotel had a TV room with some nice comfy chairs.
   ▪ a hard chair (=not comfortable) • I sat on a hard chair in the corridor and waited.
   ▪ an empty chair (=with no one using it) • She came and sat in an empty chair beside me.
   ▪ a wooden/plastic/leather etc chair • In the kitchen was a table with six wooden chairs around it.
   ▪ a folding chair (=one which you can fold so it is flat) • People were sitting on blankets or folding chairs, listening to the outdoor concert.

■ chair + NOUN

▪ a chair leg/arm/back/seat • The chair leg has broken.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

chair

chair [chair chairs chaired chairing] noun, verb [tʃeə(r)] [tʃer]

noun

1. countable a piece of furniture for one person to sit on, with a back, a seat and four legs

• a table and chairs

• Sit on your chair!

• an old man asleep in a chair (= an armchair )

• dining/kitchen chairs

see also armchair, deckchair, easy chair, high chair, musical chairs, rocking chair, wheelchair

2. the chair singular the position of being in charge of a meeting or committee; the person who holds this position

• She takes the chair in all our meetings.

• Who is in the chair today?

• He was elected chair of the city council.

• All remarks should be addressed to the chair.

3. countable the position of being in charge of a department in a university

• He holds the chair of philosophy at Oxford.

4. the chair singular (US, informal) = electric chair

Word Origin:

Middle English: from Old French chaiere (modern chaire ‘bishop's throne, etc.’, chaise ‘chair’), from Latin cathedra ‘seat’, from Greek kathedra. Compare with cathedral.

Thesaurus:

chair noun C

• Sit on your chair!

• a wheelchair/deckchair/high chair/rocking chair

seat • • armchair • • throne • • stool •

in/into/out of a/an chair/seat/armchair

on/onto/off a chair/seat/throne/stool

Chair or seat? A chair is a piece of furniture designed for sitting on; a seat is anywhere that you can sit:

• a set of dining/kitchen chairs

¤ a set of dining/kitchen seats:

• We used the old tree stump as a seat.

¤ We used the old tree stump as a chair. Seat is also used for the place where you sit in a vehicle:

• the passenger seat/driver's seat (= in a car)

• an aisle/a window seat (= in a bus/plane/train)

Example Bank:

• ‘Please, be my guest.’ He gestured towards an empty chair.

• A cat was asleep on the chair.

• A chair lift carried us to the top of the ski run.

• A chair stood facing the window.

• A private benefactor endowed the new Chair of Japanese Literature.

• Anne took the chair in Carol's absence.

• Anne took the chair= was chairperson in Carol's absence.

• Come in and take a chair.

• He gave her his chair.

• He gestured to an empty chair.

• He got up from his chair to address the meeting.

• He held the Chair of Botany at Cambridge University for thirty years.

• He held the Chair of Psychology at Yale.

• He lay back in the reclining chair and went to sleep.

• He pulled out a chair for her.

• He pushed back his chair and got to his feet.

• He put his feet up on the desk and lay back in his chair.

• He sank into his chair and opened the letter.

• He sat nervously on the edge of his chair.

• He was shifting about uneasily in his chair.

• Lisa heard a chair scraping the floor.

• Paul Ryan was in the chair at today's meeting.

• Paul Ryan was in the chair= was chairperson at today's meeting.

• Please address your questions to the chair.

• She always swivels around in her chair.

• She dropped her bags and flopped down into the nearest chair.

• She gripped the arm of her chair as she spoke.

• She leaned back in her chair and lit a cigarette.

• She returned to the swivel chair behind her desk.

• She swivelled round in her chair and picked up the phone.

• She tipped her chair back and fixed her gaze full upon him.

• The chair creaked every time I moved.

• They straightened in their chairs when the manager burst in.

• a dining table and four matching chairs

• a set of antique dining chairs

• a high chair

• a rocking chair

• an old man asleep in a chair

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

chair / tʃeə r / / tʃer / noun [ C ] (FURNITURE)

A1 a seat for one person, which has a back, usually four legs, and sometimes two arms

→ See also armchair noun , deckchair , pushchair , wheelchair

See picture in the office

the chair

informal for the electric chair

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

chair

/tʃeə(r)/
(chairs, chairing, chaired)

Frequency: The word is one of the 1500 most common words in English.

1.
A chair is a piece of furniture for one person to sit on. Chairs have a back and four legs.
He rose from his chair and walked to the window.
N-COUNT

2.
At a university, a chair is the post of professor.
He has been appointed to the chair of sociology at Southampton University...
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of/in n

3.
The person who is the chair of a committee or meeting is the person in charge of it.
She is the chair of the Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Military.
= chairperson
N-COUNT: usu sing, oft N of n

4.
If you chair a meeting or a committee, you are the person in charge of it.
He was about to chair a meeting in Venice of EU foreign ministers...
VERB: V n

5.
The chair is the same as the electric chair. (AM)
N-SING: the N

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

¹chair /ˈʧeɚ/ noun, pl chairs
1 [count] : a seat for one person that has a back and usually four legs
• a chair by the window
• We'll need a table and four chairs for the dining room.
• Please pull up a chair [=bring a chair to where we are] and join us.
2 [count]
a : the person who is the leader of a department at a college or university
• He is now chair of the English department.
b : the person who is the leader of a meeting, organization, committee, or event
• She's chair of the school board this year.
• Address any questions to the committee chair.
- see also chairman, chairperson, chairwoman
3 the chair US informal : electric chair
• a murderer who was sentenced/sent to the chair