chaperone

noun chap·er·one \ ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn \

variants: or less commonly chaperon

Updated on: 17 Apr 2018

Definition of chaperone

1 : a person (such as a matron) who for propriety (see propriety 4) 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

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

3 : any of a class of proteins (such as heat-shock proteins) that facilitate the proper folding of proteins by binding to and stabilizing unfolded or partially folded proteins — called also molecular chaperone

See chaperone defined for English-language learners

See chaperone defined for kids

Examples of chaperone in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of chaperone from the Web

Of course, like all high-school dances, there’ll be chaperones.

— sophie cannon, BostonGlobe.com, "Reader prom takes a novel approach to helping others," 14 Apr. 2018
About 2,000 first-graders from area schools came with their teachers and chaperones to take a tour and perhaps get a vision of their own futures.

— fred niedner, chicagotribune.com, "Column: Which leaders will future voters look to?," 13 Apr. 2018
Today, couples are encouraged to bring a chaperone on dates.

— sarah smith, star-telegram, "Fundamentalist Baptist pastor arrested on charges he failed to report child abuse | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 3 Apr. 2018
The MobilizingMSDAlumni group, whose alma mater is Stoneman Douglas, has sponsored the trip for students, parents and chaperones.

— Sun-Sentinel.com, "Thousands of South Floridians depart for March for Our Lives in Washington, D.C.," 23 Mar. 2018
Martin, 48, a lab scientist who had been a chaperone on the trip, had emerged largely unscathed, except for a cut on her chin.

— emily foxhall, San Antonio Express-News, "Channelview band director hailed as hero in wake of Alabama bus crash," 14 Mar. 2018
The Free Press gave the venture me – as well as the signage and photography – to coordinate getting 900 kids, along with teachers and chaperones, to a suburban theater and back.

— rochelle riley, Detroit Free Press, "Detroit rapper Big Sean opens film production company," 4 Mar. 2018
Nassar was fired in 2016 for violating the chaperone rules.

— david eggert, BostonGlobe.com, "Former Michigan State dean charged in Larry Nassar scandal," 27 Mar. 2018
The money, combined with funds from the Giffords gun-control group and free flights from Delta Airlines, helped send nearly 1,000 Stoneman Douglas students and chaperones to the event.

— david fleshler, Sun-Sentinel.com, "How Stoneman Douglas students organized gun-control rallies around the world," 27 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'chaperone.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of chaperone

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1720

See Words from the same year

chaperone

verb

variants: or less commonly chaperon

Definition of chaperone

chaperoned; chaperoning

transitive verb

1 : escort

2 : to act as chaperone to or for

chaperone a dance

chaperoning teenagers

intransitive verb

: to act as a chaperone

Two parents chaperoned at the school dance.

—

chaperonage

play \-ˌrō-nij\ noun

See chaperone defined for English-language learners

Examples of chaperone in a Sentence

Two parents chaperoned the children.
My mom always chaperoned the school dances.

Recent Examples of chaperone from the Web

Jackson walks to the front of the school where, some parents are checking in at the office to chaperone a field trip to the zoo.

— beth kassab, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Active shooter drills, pie-in-the-face all part of life as school resource officer," 16 Mar. 2018
Their parents, who are simply too overwhelmed and impoverished themselves, cannot chaperone them.

— Washington Post, "For Rohingya Muslim child refugees, too many losses to count," 21 Sep. 2017
Troop 939 leader Siobahn Hickey, of Lake Forest, will help chaperone the group of sixth- to 10th- graders.

— nathan percy, Orange County Register, "These Orange County kids say why they’re going to Trump’s inauguration," 19 Jan. 2017
Hughes told FP Santangelo, a 27-year-old outfielder, to watch after Brady and chaperone him for the day, because the Expos wanted to sign this guy.

— tim rohan, The MMQB, "That Time a 17-Year-Old Tom Brady Borrowed Ken Griffey Jr.’s Jersey," 10 July 2017
TMZ reports that the Toronto rapper flew in to chaperone his second cousin Jalaah Moore and her date to the dance at Fairley High School, making a stylish entrance by ordering them a white Rolls Royce.

— peter helman, Billboard, "Drake Crashed a Prom in Memphis," 15 May 2017

Origin and Etymology of chaperone

see ¹chaperone

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1796

See Words from the same year

chaperone Synonyms

CHAPERONE Defined for English Language Learners

chaperone

noun

Definition of chaperone for English Language Learners

: someone (such as a teacher or parent) who goes with children on a trip or to a school dance to make sure that the children behave properly
: a person in the past who went with a young unmarried woman to social events in order to make sure that the woman behaved properly

chaperone

verb

Definition of chaperone for English Language Learners

: to be a chaperone to or for (someone or something)

CHAPERONE Defined for Kids

chaperone

noun chap·er·one

variants: or chaperon \ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn\

Definition of chaperone for Students

: a person who goes with and is responsible for a group of young people

chaperone

verb

variants: or chaperon

Definition of chaperone for Students

chaperoned; chaperoning

: to go with and supervise a group of young people : act as a chaperone

Several parents chaperoned the school dance.

Medical Dictionary

chaperone

noun chap·er·one \ ˈshap-ə-ˌrōn \

variants: or chaperone protein

medical Definition of chaperone

: any of a class of proteins (such as heat shock proteins and chaperonins) that facilitate the proper folding of proteins by binding to and stabilizing unfolded or partially folded proteins

As the proteins are produced, molecules called chaperones fold them into the three-dimensional form they are supposed to take.
—Andres M. Lozano et al., Scientific American,, July 2005

— called also molecular chaperone