I. chair 1 S1 W2 /tʃeə $ tʃer/ BrE AmE noun
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: chaiere , from Latin cathedra , from Greek , from kata- ( ⇨ ↑ cataclysm ) + hedra 'seat' ]
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.
II. chair 2 BrE AmE verb [transitive]
to be the ↑ chairperson of a meeting or committee:
The inquiry was chaired by a judge.