president

noun

pres·​i·​dent ˈpre-zə-dənt 

ˈprez-dənt, 

ˈpre-zə-ˌdent

in rapid speech ˈpre-zᵊnt

1

: an official chosen to preside over a meeting or assembly

2

: an appointed governor of a subordinate political unit

3

: the chief officer of an organization (such as a corporation or institution) usually entrusted with the direction and administration of its policies

4

: the presiding officer of a governmental body

5

a

: an elected official serving as both chief of state and chief political executive in a republic having a presidential government

b

: an elected official having the position of chief of state but usually only minimal political powers in a republic having a parliamentary government

presidentship

ˈpre-zə-dənt-ˌship 

ˈprez-dənt-, 

ˈpre-zə-ˌdent-

noun

Synonyms of president

• chairman
• chairperson
• moderator
• presider

Examples of president in a Sentence

The President will hold a news conference tomorrow.

the president of the international conference on genocide

Recent Examples on the Web

According to Schaffer, just as surreal as directing the former president was chatting with him during the downtime of the four-hour shoot. — Ethan Shanfeld, Variety, 8 Aug. 2026

Chapman, Willy Adames and Rafael Devers are the experienced position players on a team now fully undergoing a youth movement that was launched when president of baseball operations Buster Posey hit the reset button at the trade deadline. — Devin Bradshaw, Mercury News, 8 Aug. 2026

North and Central America and Caribbean governing body CONCACAF and the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) have both criticized the FIFA president and rejected the plan. — Aleks Klosok, CNN Money, 8 Aug. 2026

Rick Doblin, the founder and president of MAPS, had identified, decades earlier, that veterans, as a sympathetic constituency, were the surest route to bipartisan support. — Michelle Lhooq, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin praesident-, praesidens, from present participle of praesidēre

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing president

• co-president
• president-elect
• vice president

Rhymes for president

• circumvent
• discontent
• fundament
• malcontent
• occident
• orient
• presidente
• reinvent
• represent
• underwent
• accent
• advent

Kids Definition

president

noun

pres·​i·​dent ˈprez-əd-ənt 

ˈprez-dənt, 

ˈprez-ə-ˌdent

1

: a person who presides over a meeting

2

: the chief officer of an organization

a bank president

college president

president of our club

3

: the chief executive officer or the chief of state in a republic

presidential

ˌprez(-ə)-ˈden-chəl 

adjective

Legal Definition

president

noun

pres·​i·​dent ˈpre-zə-dənt, -ˌdent 

often capitalized

1

: an official chosen to preside over a meeting or assembly

2

: an appointed governor of a subordinate political unit

3

: the chief officer of an organization (as a corporation or institution) usually entrusted with the direction and administration of its policies

4

: the presiding officer of a governmental body

the Vice President of the United States shall be President of the Senate

—U.S. Constitution art. I

5

a

: an elected official serving as both chief of state and chief political executive in a republic having a presidential government

b

: an elected official having the position of chief of state but usually only minimal political powers in a republic having a parliamentary government

presidential

ˌpre-zə-ˈden-chəl 

adjective

presidentially adverb

presidentship noun