chaperone

1 of 2

noun

chap·​er·​one ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn How to pronounce chaperone (audio)
variants or less commonly chaperon
1
: a person (such as a matron) who for propriety (see propriety sense 2) 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

chaperone

2 of 2

verb

variants or less commonly chaperon
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 noun

Examples of chaperone in a Sentence

Noun I was a chaperone on one of my son's school trips. Verb Two parents chaperoned the children. My mom always chaperoned the school dances.
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Initially, some were accompanied to lessons by chaperones, like an older brother or male relative, who sat in the back seat. Miriam Jordan, New York Times, 16 Mar. 2024 After about 100 students and chaperones headed to Aruba to celebrate their high school graduation in May 2005, Holloway vanished. Kalia Richardson, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2024 Aboard the charter bus: 47 students and four chaperones from Seminole Middle School in Plantation and the driver. Devoun Cetoute, Miami Herald, 17 Feb. 2024 The board discussed ordering Saucedo to meanwhile practice with a chaperone, but voted not to. The Arizona Republic, 8 Jan. 2024 For one thing, Kuno Werner, lead engineer at the Porsche Museum, was sitting in the passenger seat to act as chaperone. Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, 3 Oct. 2023 Since American Airlines’ rules for unaccompanied minors required a guardian (in his case, a school chaperone) to get a gate pass and stay with him at the gate until the flight took off, he was never left alone—and his dad picked him up safely in Dallas at 1:30 a.m. Rachel Chang, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 Jan. 2024 The charter bus was carrying one driver and 54 students and chaperones, the highway patrol said. Maham Javaid, Washington Post, 14 Nov. 2023 Alexander always had to be accompanied by a female chaperone because it was considered unseemly for a woman to travel surrounded only by men. Katie Hafner, Scientific American, 4 Jan. 2024
Verb
Meena sits in a rickshaw with the family’s women while the men chaperone them on motorbikes — a mechanical reflection of a wedding procession, stripped of all joy and color. Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 18 Feb. 2024 The Police Department had been forced to assign officers to chaperone the robot, which is 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighs 400 pounds. Hurubie Meko, New York Times, 2 Feb. 2024 Nicholas Galitzine co-stars in the Michael Showalter movie about a 40-year-old single mom (Hathaway) who, after chaperoning her daughter at Coachella, begins a romance with 24-year-old Hayes Campbell (Galitzine), the lead singer of the hottest boy band on the planet. Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Jan. 2024 In the most high-profile ejection, a lawyer chaperoning her daughter’s Girl Scout troop to see the Rockettes at Radio City Music Hall was forced to sit out the show. Adlan Jackson, The New Yorker, 15 Jan. 2024 Being a twenty seven year old single woman chaperoning your ninety something grandparents on one, right after a crippling break-up. Mia Galuppo, The Hollywood Reporter, 11 Dec. 2023 Children aged 5 to 12 (this year, 680!) and a number of chaperoning adults line up outside the palace gates, entering on the clocktower stroke. Peter Mikelbank, Peoplemag, 20 Dec. 2023 More:New Indiana State Fair policy requires youth under 18 to be chaperoned after 6 p.m. Some reserved-viewing tickets will be sold later in the summer through indianastatefair.com. Indianapolis Star, The Indianapolis Star, 21 June 2023 On arrival, she is chaperoned by a cynical uncle (Nagase) to uncover the mystery of her strange dreams and her mother’s disappearance years ago. Patrick Frater, Variety, 22 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'chaperone.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

French chaperon, literally, hood, from Middle French, head covering, from chape

First Known Use

Noun

1720, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1802, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of chaperone was in 1720

Dictionary Entries Near chaperone

Cite this Entry

“Chaperone.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/chaperone. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

chaperone

1 of 2 noun
chap·​er·​one
variants or chaperon
: a person who goes with and is responsible for a young woman or a group of young people (as at a dance)

chaperone

2 of 2 verb
variants or chaperon
chaperoned; chaperoning
: to act or go with as a chaperone
Etymology

Noun

from French chaperon "chaperone," literally, "hood," derived from early French chape "cape," from Latin cappa "head covering, cloak" — related to cape entry 2, chapel

Medical Definition

chaperone

noun
chap·​er·​one ˈshap-ə-ˌrōn How to pronounce chaperone (audio)
variants or chaperone protein
: 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,

called also molecular chaperone

More from Merriam-Webster on chaperone

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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