chaperone

noun chap·er·one \ ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn \

variants: or less commonly chaperon

|Updated on: 11 Jun 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

The California law states that if there are people under 21 on the party bus and alcohol is being served, the group must have a chaperone on board.

— lavendrick smith and steve harrison, charlotteobserver, "After a party bus tragedy, California passed new rules. Will that happen in NC? | Charlotte Observer," 4 May 2018
Human chaperones are supposed to take control when the cars' sensors and algorithms fall short or other circumstances demand it.

— michael laris, chicagotribune.com, "Uber shutting down self-driving operations in Arizona," 24 May 2018
But within two minutes sans chaperone, a man who clearly had one too many Mint Juleps uses my fascinator as an excuse to hit on me.

— alice bell, Vogue, "Becoming Meghan Markle: One Vogue Writer Puts Royal Fashion Protocol to the Test," 19 May 2018
For years, prison chaperones showed journalists a display of detainee paintings, describing art class as by far the prison's most popular program.

— carol rosenberg, miamiherald, "Al-Qaida terrorist took his Guantánamo art home as a reward for trial testimony | Miami Herald," 10 May 2018
The bus was carrying 30 students and adult chaperones from Beddingfield High School in Wilson, North Carolina, who were traveling back from a trip to Florida.

— CBS News, "Bus carrying high school chorus team crashes in South Carolina, injuring 17," 29 Apr. 2018
More than 100 students, staff and chaperones from the downtown Orlando school met at 3 a.m. April 5 to head to Orlando International Airport and their trip to the Big Apple.

— matthew j. palm, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Jones High performances at Carnegie Hall: 'amazing,' 'awesome'," 23 Apr. 2018
The trip comes at no cost to the district and will be supervised by marching band Director Jay Wardeska, a member of the high school administrative team and an estimated 15 to 20 adult chaperones.

— brian lisik/special to cleveland.com, cleveland.com, "Brunswick schools prepare for first strategic plan update in two decades," 17 Apr. 2018
In June, women will drive on Saudi roads, independent from male chaperones.

— karl vick, Time, "The Saudi Crown Prince Thinks He Can Transform the Middle East. Should We Believe Him?," 5 Apr. 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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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

Tena’s older sister, who lives near Sacramento, would drive two-and-a-half hours south to Salinas to pick her up, take her to the meetings, then chaperone her home again—eight hours of driving each time.

— lauren smiley, The Atlantic, "The Future of AI Depends on High-School Girls," 23 May 2018
Through this program, volunteers can chaperone a trip and lead a small group of students through exhibits.

— shelbie lynn bostedt, RedEye Chicago, "Give back this week with Supplies for Dreams," 2 Aug. 2017
Being asked to chaperone a field trip that requires riding the school bus.

— tiffany blackstone, Redbook, "7 Times Parents Wish They Could Say, "LOL, Nope!"," 4 June 2015
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

in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

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