chancellor
noun
chan·cel·lor
ˈchan(t)-s(ə-)lər 
1
a
: the secretary of a nobleman, prince, or king
b
: the lord chancellor of Great Britain
c
British
: the chief secretary of an embassy
d
: a Roman Catholic priest heading the office in which diocesan business is transacted and recorded
2
a
: the titular head of a British university
b(1)
: a university president
(2)
: the chief executive officer in some state systems of higher education
3
a
: a lay legal officer or adviser of an Anglican diocese
b
: a judge in a court of chancery or equity in various states of the U.S.
4
: the chief minister of state in some European countries
Examples of chancellor in a Sentence
the new chancellor of the university
Recent Examples on the Web
The error was so persistent that the California Student Aid Commission partnered with CSU, the University of California and the California Community Colleges chancellor’s office to offer an alternative financial aid application for students from mixed-status households.
—
Molly Gibbs, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
In February, the UW-Madison graduate student union delivered a petition calling for paid parental leave benefits to the chancellor's office.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024
On his home turf, the German chancellor has been facing competition from the AfD party which has slowly gained ground as the second-largest party in the nation.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 8 Apr. 2024
And yet the first (prescreened) question that Vanderbilt’s chancellor, Daniel Diermeier, answered on family weekend this past fall was about whether Vanderbilt should invest even more in career advising in the wake of the school’s five-spot decline in the annual U.S. News rankings.
—Ron Lieber, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The chancellor’s first encounter with Zuback doubles as the show’s best and most convincing argument for how Elena could possibly have come to power.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024
Past chancellors measured metrics like research funding and student job placements and salaries.
—Kathleen Gallagher, Journal Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2024
Under the guardianship of her uncle Mikhail Vorontsov, a Russian statesman who for a time served as the imperial chancellor, Dashkova studied languages, mathematics and literature, developing a particular interest in French philosophy.
—E.r. Zarevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
When Twitter sued Musk in 2022 over his attempt to back out of buying the company for $44 billion, McCormick assigned herself the case rather than delegating what was sure to be a contentious, high-profile matter to one of her vice chancellors.
—Rachel Lerman, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2024
Molly Gibbs, The Mercury News, 11 Apr. 2024
In February, the UW-Madison graduate student union delivered a petition calling for paid parental leave benefits to the chancellor's office.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024
On his home turf, the German chancellor has been facing competition from the AfD party which has slowly gained ground as the second-largest party in the nation.
—Prarthana Prakash, Fortune Europe, 8 Apr. 2024
And yet the first (prescreened) question that Vanderbilt’s chancellor, Daniel Diermeier, answered on family weekend this past fall was about whether Vanderbilt should invest even more in career advising in the wake of the school’s five-spot decline in the annual U.S. News rankings.
—Ron Lieber, New York Times, 5 Apr. 2024
The chancellor’s first encounter with Zuback doubles as the show’s best and most convincing argument for how Elena could possibly have come to power.
—Lili Loofbourow, Washington Post, 2 Mar. 2024
Past chancellors measured metrics like research funding and student job placements and salaries.
—Kathleen Gallagher, Journal Sentinel, 19 Mar. 2024
Under the guardianship of her uncle Mikhail Vorontsov, a Russian statesman who for a time served as the imperial chancellor, Dashkova studied languages, mathematics and literature, developing a particular interest in French philosophy.
—E.r. Zarevich, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Mar. 2024
When Twitter sued Musk in 2022 over his attempt to back out of buying the company for $44 billion, McCormick assigned herself the case rather than delegating what was sure to be a contentious, high-profile matter to one of her vice chancellors.
—Rachel Lerman, Washington Post, 19 Feb. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chancellor.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near chancellor
Cite this Entry
“Chancellor.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chancellor. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
chancellor
noun
chan·cel·lor
ˈchan(t)-s(ə-)lər
1
: the chief minister of state in some European countries
2
: the head of a university
Legal Definition
chancellor
noun
chan·cel·lor
ˈchan-sə-lər
1
: the head of a chancery: as
a
: the Lord Chancellor of Great Britain
b
: a judge in a court of equity in various states
2
a
: a university president
b
: the chief executive officer in some state systems of higher education
3
: the chief minister of state in some European countries (as Germany)
Etymology
Old French chancelier royal secretary, from Late Latin cancellarius doorkeeper, clerk, from Latin cancellus latticework barrier
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