What does chairmen mean?
Chairmen is the irregular plural of chairman and means people who preside over meetings, committees, organizations, or other formal bodies. It is especially common in political, institutional, corporate, and legal contexts, where it refers to people who lead a group by chairing its proceedings or holding an official chair. The word belongs to the established compound chairman, formed from chair and man, and its plural changes the ending of man from -man to -men. In contemporary usage, many writers and organizations prefer chair or chairperson, which avoid specifying the gender of the person holding the role. Nevertheless, chairmen remains grammatically standard and is still used, particularly in British English and in formal or traditional settings. The form can therefore sound both authoritative and somewhat dated, depending on the context.
noun (plural)Chairmen is the plural form of chairman, referring to people who chair or preside over meetings, committees, organizations, or other bodies. The term is increasingly replaced by the gender-neutral chair or chairperson in contemporary usage.
- People who preside over or hold the chair of meetings, committees, organizations, or other formal bodies.
"The former chairmen welcomed the new committee members."
"The former chairmen welcomed the new committee members."
"The report was presented to the national party chairmen."
The standard irregular plural of chairman; the singular is chairman.
"The chairmen of the regional committees met for the annual review."
One spelling surprise: chairmen is the irregular plural of chairman, changing “man” to “men.”
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Words that share this root
Related word forms
How chairmen is actually used
The traditional form remains standard in many formal, historical, legal, and institutional contexts, especially in British usage. Because it explicitly marks a male holder, “chair,” “chairperson,” or “chairwoman” may be preferred where gender neutrality matters; some speakers also regard “chairmen” as somewhat old-fashioned.
Easily confused with chairmen
Chairmen is the traditional plural of chairman, while chairpersons is a gender-neutral plural form often preferred in modern institutional contexts.
Chairman is the singular form of chairmen and refers to one person who presides over a group or organization.