- [countable] a piece of furniture for one person to sit on, with a back, a seat and four legs
- a table and chairs
- on a chair Sit on your chair!
- in a chair an old man asleep in a chair (= an armchair)
- She was sitting in her favourite chair.
- He sighed and leaned back in his chair.
- ‘Sit down,’ she said, pointing to the empty chair next to her.
- a comfortable chair
- a wooden/leather/plastic chair
- a folding/reclining/swivel chair
- an office/a desk chair
Extra ExamplesTopics Houses and homesa1- ‘Please, be my guest.’ He gestured towards an empty chair.
- A cat was asleep on the chair.
- His tall figure was slumped in his chair.
- Rising slowly from his chair he went to a bookcase.
- A chair stood facing the window.
- Come in and take a chair (= sit down).
- She gave me her chair.
- She got up from her chair to address the meeting.
- He lay back in the reclining chair and went to sleep.
- I gestured to an empty chair.
- He pulled out a chair for me.
- She pushed back her chair and got to her feet.
- He put his feet up on the desk and lay back in his chair.
- She sank into her chair and opened the letter.
- He sat nervously on the edge of his chair.
- She was shifting about uneasily in her chair.
- Lisa heard a chair scraping the floor.
- a set of antique dining chairs
- a dining table and four matching chairs
- They straightened in their chairs when the manager burst in.
- The chair creaked every time I moved.
- She tipped her chair back and fixed her gaze full upon him.
- I swivelled round in my chair and picked up my phone.
- She leaned back in her chair and yawned.
- He gripped the arm of his chair as she spoke.
- I dropped my bags and flopped down into the nearest chair.
- She returned to the swivel chair (= one on which the seat turns around without moving the base) behind her desk.
- He always swivels around in his chair.
- dining/kitchen chairs
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- comfortable
- comfy
- cushioned
- …
- row
- set
- draw up
- pull up
- pull out
- …
- be placed
- stand
- swivel
- …
- arm
- back
- leg
- …
- into a/the chair
- in a/the chair
- on a/the chair
- …
- the arm of a chair
- the back of a chair
- the edge of a chair
- …
- the chair[countable, usually singular] the position of being in charge of a meeting or committee; the person who holds this position
- in the chair Who is in the chair today?
- All remarks should be addressed to the chair.
- She takes the chair in all our meetings.
- chair of something the chair of the committee
- He was elected chair of the city council.
- The chairs of all the subcommittees will meet on Friday.
Extra ExamplesTopics Working lifeb2- Anne took the chair in Carol's absence.
- Paul Ryan was in the chair at today's meeting.
- Please address your questions to the chair.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- acting
- deputy
- honorary
- …
- occupy
- take
- address (something to)
- …
- in the chair
- [countable] the position of being in charge of a department in a university; a special position as a university professor
- He holds the chair of philosophy at Oxford.
- the department chair
- She was awarded a personal chair in black history at Bath Spa University (= she was made a professor without being head of a department).
Extra ExamplesTopics Educationc1- She held the Chair of Psychology at Yale.
- He held the Chair of Botany at Cambridge University for thirty years.
- A private benefactor endowed the new Chair of Japanese Literature.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- professorial
- hold
- occupy
- appoint somebody to
- …
- the chair(US English, informal)(also electric chair British and North American English)[singular] (especially in the US) a chair in which criminals are killed by having a powerful electric current passed through their bodies; the method of execution that uses this chair
Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French chaiere (modern chaire ‘bishop's throne, etc.’, chaise ‘chair’), from Latin cathedra ‘seat’, from Greek kathedra. Compare with cathedral.
Check pronunciation:
chair