What does chairperson mean?
Word: Chairperson
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Chairperson means the person in charge of a meeting, a committee or an organisation.
Synonyms: chair
How do you spell chairperson?
Syllables: chair - per - son
Tricky part: The join is where slips happen: children add an extra letter between the two parts, or leave a gap.
Watch out for: chareperson, chairpersen, chaireperson
Memory tip: Take a deep breath of air before the meeting: the air sound in this word is spelt a-i-r, as in hair and fair.
Chairperson in a sentence
Example 1: The chairperson opened the meeting by welcoming the parents.
Example 2: Mrs Rao was chosen as chairperson of the school sports committee.
Example 3: Every member raised a hand to vote, and the chairperson counted them.
Fun Fact
Chairperson came into wide use in the 1970s as a word that fits a man or a woman, in place of chairman.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) grandparant
b) bookkeper
c) headmistres
d) chairperson
Show answer
d) chairperson. Headmistress needs ss at the end, bookkeeper needs ee, and grandparent ends in ent.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word: chairperson
a) member
b) clerk
c) head
d) visitor
Show answer
c) head. The head of a committee leads it, just as a chairperson does.
Mingle-Mangle
Form a meaningful word from the jumbled letters:
sonpearchir
a) championship
b) chairmanship
c) chaperones
d) chairperson
Show answer
d) chairperson. There is no m in the letters, which rules out chairmanship and championship, and chaperones needs a second e.
Spell-o-Spell
Choose the incorrectly spelt word:
a) delegate
b) treasurer
c) secretary
d) chairpurson
Show answer
d) chairpurson. The middle of chairperson is per, as in perfect.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. Which group is most likely to have a chairperson?
a) a team running a relay race
b) a committee that plans the school fair
c) a class sitting a spelling test
d) an audience watching a film
Show answer
b) a committee that plans the school fair
2. Mr Iyer was elected chairperson of the library committee. What is his new role?
a) joining as its newest member
b) looking after the books on loan
c) leading the committee and its meetings
d) keeping the committee's accounts
Show answer
c) leading the committee and its meetings
