Meaning & use
chairing
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“chairing” is a form of “chair”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive
Leading a meeting, committee, or official group and keeping it in order.
Grammar: Takes an object: chair a meeting. Used in progressive forms like 'is chairing' or after prepositions: 'good at chairing'.
Patterns
- chair a meeting
- chair a committee
- chair the session
She is chairing the budget meeting this afternoon.
He has been chairing the safety committee since January.
Who will be chairing the talks in Geneva?
noununcountable
The act of leading a meeting or committee as its chair.
Grammar: Usually uncountable and slightly formal; often appears as 'the chairing of something'.
Patterns
- the chairing of something
The chairing of the panel was shared between two professors.
Good chairing kept the debate on schedule.
Word forms
| third person singular | chairs |
|---|---|
| past tense | chaired |
| past participle | chaired |
| -ing form | chairing |
Common combinations
- chair a meeting
- The director asked her to chair the meeting while he was away.
- chair a committee
- He chaired the committee for three years.
- chair the session
- Professor Lane will chair the morning session.
- be good at chairing
- She is very good at chairing difficult discussions.
Synonyms and how they differ
- lead
- Wider and more general than 'chair'; you can lead a team or a project, but you chair an official meeting or committee.
- preside over
- More formal and often suggests a ceremonial role; 'chair' is the everyday word for running a meeting.
- moderate
- Used especially for debates or online discussions where you manage speakers rather than hold formal authority.
Word family
- chair noun
- The person who leads a meeting, or the seat itself.
- chairperson noun
- A neutral word for the person who chairs a group.
- chairmanship noun
- The position or period of being a chair.
Commonly confused: chairing or charing?
chairing vs charing
A rare word meaning to burn or char; it sounds almost the same as 'chairing' but has nothing to do with meetings.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'chairing' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Chair' is transitive, so it takes a direct object with no preposition: chair the meeting. The other options wrongly add 'on', 'for', or 'to' before the object.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “chairing”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.