selectman

noun se·lect·man \ sə-ˈlek(t)-ˌman , -ˌlek(t)-ˈman , -ˈlek(t)-mən ; ˈsē-ˌlek(t)-ˌman \

|Updated on: 7 Jun 2018

Definition of selectman

: one of a board of officials elected in towns of all New England states except Rhode Island to serve as the chief administrative authority of the town

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Recent Examples of selectman from the Web

But selectmen said that investment would be recovered through savings in energy costs in several years.

— ken byron, Courant Community, "Canton Officials Consider Solar Panels For Two Schools," 20 Mar. 2018
Low pay and job insecurity may have contributed to no candidate rising to take Congdon's seat, the first selectman said.

— ryan w. miller, USA TODAY, "Help wanted: Teachers. Police. Even mayors: Jobs crucial to society plagued by discontent," 22 Mar. 2018
Svensson is a former selectman and current chairman of the Municipal Light Board.

— john laidler, BostonGlobe.com, "Selectmen’s race tops Danvers election ballot," 5 Apr. 2018
In cities and towns where voters opposed legalization, elected bodies such as town councils or boards of selectmen can impose a ban without polling residents.

— BostonGlobe.com, "Pot shops face bans in most of Mass.," 17 Mar. 2018
Standing outside Town Hall, selectman candidate Ed Ordway said those who really want to change things won't be stopped by a little snow.

— Fox News, "The Latest: Power outages mount across the Northeast," 13 Mar. 2018
Her father, Paul Hicks III, is a former Republican Greenwich selectman and public relations executive who worked for the National Football League prior to taking his current job as managing director of the Glover Park Group.

— diane herbst, PEOPLE.com, "Who Is Hope Hicks? All About the White House Communications Director Dubbed Trump's 'Real Daughter'," 27 Feb. 2018
On the Republican side, there’s Danbury’s Mark Boughton and Shelton’s Mark Lauretti, along with Tim Herbst, who was first selectman of Trumbull for eight years before declining to seek re-election last year.

— russell blair, courant.com, "Mayors Crowd Connecticut's Gubernatorial Field," 7 Jan. 2018
The board of selectmen approved the contract recently.

— ken byron, courant.com, "Canton Approves $3.1 Million Contract For New Public Works Garage," 21 Dec. 2017

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

First Known Use of selectman

1635

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

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Law Dictionary

selectman

noun se·lect·man \ si-ˈlekt-mən, -ˌman \

legal Definition of selectman

: one of a board of officials elected in towns of all New England states except Rhode Island to serve as the chief administrative authority of the town