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
