VocabularyBasePractice words

Meaning & use

presiding officer

noun·Academicformal

Last updated

UK/prɪˌzaɪdɪŋ ˈɒfɪsə/
US/prɪˌzaɪdɪŋ ˈɔːfɪsər/

Meanings

  1. nouncountableformal

    The person who chairs a formal meeting, such as a parliament or legislative body, and keeps order during debate.

    Grammar: Countable; often used as a title: the Presiding Officer.

    Patterns

    • the presiding officer of something

    The presiding officer called the chamber to order.

    Members must address their remarks to the presiding officer.

    The presiding officer ruled the amendment out of order.

  2. nouncountableBritish

    An official in charge of a polling station who makes sure an election is run fairly.

    Grammar: Countable: each polling station has one presiding officer.

    Patterns

    • the presiding officer at something

    The presiding officer checked every ballot box before voting began.

    She volunteered as presiding officer at the village hall.

    Voters with questions were sent to the presiding officer.

Word forms

pluralpresiding officers

Common combinations

the presiding officer ruled
The presiding officer ruled that the vote could proceed.
elect a presiding officer
The members elect a presiding officer at the start of each term.
polling station presiding officer
A polling station presiding officer seals the boxes at night.
appoint a presiding officer
The council must appoint a presiding officer.

Synonyms and how they differ

chair
Chair is the everyday word for the person leading a meeting, while presiding officer sounds official and is a formal title.
speaker
Speaker is the title in many parliaments, but presiding officer is a broader label used for several chambers.
moderator
A moderator guides a discussion or debate, with fewer formal powers than a presiding officer.

Word family

preside verb
to lead or be in charge of a meeting
president noun
the head of a state or organization
presidency noun
the office or term of a president
officer noun
a person holding an official position

Commonly confused: presiding officer or presiding judge?

presiding officer vs presiding judge

A presiding judge leads a court panel, while a presiding officer leads a legislative meeting or election site.

Practice

At a polling station, who makes sure the voting is run fairly?

Make it your own

Write a sentence using “presiding officer”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.

Your sentence stays on this page and is not sent anywhere.

Explore more words