chaperone

play

noun chap·er·one \ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn\

variants: or less commonly

chaperon

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

Weatherspoon's mother later seized his cellphone and found a text message exchange with the accuser that the chaperone shared with police, according to the arrest documents.

— ken daley, NOLA.com, "Jefferson teen accused of raping girl, 15, at CBD hotel party", 5 July 2017
While Optimus Prime drifts through outer space in search of his ancestral home planet of Cybertron, his nemesis Megatron has vanished, leaving mankind and metalkind to duke it out without chaperones.

— justin chang, latimes.com, "'Transformers: The Last Knight' is Michael Bay's robot-orgy swan song", 20 June 2017
Musicians played and partied, men and women mingled without proper chaperones, people told dirty jokes, and, if early European rulers’ conspiracy theories were more than just theories, political plots were born.

— cynthia r. greenlee, Bon Appetit, "People Used to Be So Scared of Coffee That Bach Wrote a Cantata About It", 14 June 2017
And then there were the tea sandwiches, most created with tall chaperones in mind: curried shrimp spread; spicy deviled ham; chicken and pistachio salad on baguette rounds.

— maria l. la ganga, idahostatesman, "Boise couple creates a sweet annual tradition for their beloved family and friends", 9 June 2017
In-house publicity help is a huge advantage, but ultimately like Catherine’s having Mrs. Allen as her chaperone in Bath: essential to the success of the project, yet no guarantee of it.

— kathleen a. flynn, New York Times, "How Is a Debut Novel Like Lizzy Bennet?", 2 June 2017
The award also funds travel for Nayak and a chaperone to display his project at the EPA's National Sustainable Design Expo next year in Washington D.C.

— kale williams, OregonLive.com, "Portland high schooler takes home lofty prize in international science competition", 26 May 2017
There's thrill and often a bemused adult chaperone along for the ride -- grownups like Andy James, who took his 9-year-old brother to see Grande at the Manchester Arena as an early birthday present.

— lisa respers france, CNN, "Innocence of first concert shattered by bombing", 23 May 2017
The bus carrying 26 children, three chaperones and the driver overturned at least once May 15 on Interstate 95 near Havre de Grace.

— baltimoresun.com, "Teacher, 2 children remain hospitalized one week after I-95 bus crash", 23 May 2017

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!

First Known Use: 1720

See Words from the same year

chaperone

verb chap·er·one

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

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!

First Known Use: 1796

See Words from the same year

CHAPERONE Defined for English Language Learners

chaperone

play

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

play

noun chap·er·one \ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn\

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

play

verb chap·er·one

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

play

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