chaperone

¹chap·er·one

noun \ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn\

Definition of CHAPERONE

1

: a person (as a matron) who for propriety accompanies one or more young unmarried women in public or in mixed company

2

: an older person who accompanies young people at a social gathering to ensure proper behavior; broadly : one delegated to ensure proper behavior

3

: any of a class of proteins that facilitate the proper folding of proteins by binding to and stabilizing unfolded or partially folded proteins —called also molecular chaperone

Variants of CHAPERONE

chap·er·one or chap·er·on \ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn\

Examples of CHAPERONE

1. I was a chaperone on one of my son's school trips.

Origin of CHAPERONE

French chaperon, literally, hood, from Middle French, head covering, from chape

First Known Use: 1720