Meaning & use
co-chairman
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A person who shares the role of chairman with one or more others.
Grammar: Countable noun; plural is co-chairmen. Often used with 'of': co-chairman of the committee.
Patterns
- co-chairman of something
- serve as co-chairman
She was appointed co-chairman of the fundraising committee.
The event was organized by co-chairmen from both organizations.
He served as co-chairman alongside a former senator.
Word forms
| plural | co-chairmen |
|---|
Common combinations
- co-chairman of the board
- He is co-chairman of the board.
- co-chairman of the committee
- She was elected co-chairman of the committee.
- serve as co-chairman
- He served as co-chairman for two years.
Synonyms and how they differ
- co-chair
- Co-chair is a gender-neutral term and is now more common than co-chairman.
- joint chairman
- Joint chairman emphasizes the shared position but is less common as a compound noun.
Word family
- chairman noun
- The person in charge of a meeting or organization.
- co-chair noun
- A person who co-chairs; gender-neutral.
- co-chairmanship noun
- The position or period of being a co-chairman.
Commonly confused: co-chairman or chairman?
co-chairman vs chairman
Chairman is a single person in charge; co-chairman shares the role with at least one other.
Practice
She was elected ______ of the fundraising committee, sharing the role with two others.
Choose one answer.
Co-chairman is the singular form for one person who shares the role. Chairman would mean she is the sole person in charge. Co-chairmen and chairmen are plural.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “co-chairman”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.