chaperone

or chap·er·on

[ shap-uh-rohn ]
See synonyms for: chaperonechaperoned on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. a person, usually a married or older woman, who, for propriety, accompanies a young unmarried woman in public or who attends a party of young unmarried men and women.

  2. any adult present in order to maintain order or propriety at an activity of young people, as at a school dance.

  1. a round headdress of stuffed cloth with wide cloth streamers that fall from the crown or are draped around it, worn in the 15th century.

verb (used with object)
  1. to attend or accompany as chaperone.

verb (used without object)
  1. to act as chaperone.

Origin of chaperone

1
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, Middle French: “hood, cowl,” equivalent to chape cape1 + -eron noun suffix; figurative sense from French (18th century)

Other words for chaperone

Other words from chaperone

  • chap·er·on·age [shap-uh-roh-nij], /ˈʃæp əˌroʊ nɪdʒ/, noun
  • chap·er·on·less, adjective

Words Nearby chaperone

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use chaperone in a sentence