chair
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CHAIRPERSON 3 [C(of)] the position of PROFESSOR: She holds
a chair of chemistry in the university. 4 [the+S] infml (espe-
cially in the US) the punishment of death by means of an
ELECTRIC CHAIR 5 [C] old use for SEDAN CHAIR
chair² v [T] 1 to be CHAIRPERSON of (a meeting): The commis-
sion of inquiry was chaired by a well-known judge. 2 BrE to
lift up and carry (someone), as a sign of admiration: When he
won the race his supporters chaired him round the field.
'chair lift n an apparatus which carries people up and down
steep slopes in chairs that hang from a moving wire
chair·man /'tʃeəmən|'tʃʃer-/ n pl. -men /mən/ 1 a chair-
person, especially a male one: He was elected chairman of the
education committee. → see PERSON (USAGE) 2 the head,
usually male, of a large organization or company: The
chairman of British Rail/American Airlines 3 (in former
times) a man employed to help carry a SEDAN CHAIR
chair·man·ship /'tʃeəmənʃɪp| 'tʃʃer-/ n [C usually sing.] the
rank, position, or period in office of a chairman: a commis-
sion of inquiry under the chairmanship of a well-known
judge
chair·per·son /'tʃeəpɜːsən||'tʃʃerpɜːrsən/ n a person
who is in charge of a meeting or who directs the work of a
committee or organization → see PERSON (USAGE)
chair·wom·an /'tʃeəwʊmən||'tʃʃer-/ n pl. -women
/wɪmɪn/ a female chairperson
chaise /ʃeɪz/ n 1 a light two-wheeled or four-wheeled car-
riage, used in former times, pulled by one horse 2 AmE a
CHAISE LONGUE
chaise longue /ʃeɪz 'lɒ||-'lɔŋ/ n pl. chaises longues or
chaise longues (same pronunciation) Fr 1 a COUCH with an arm
at only one end, on which you can sit and stretch out your
legs 2 AmE a long chair for sitting back in
chal·et /'ʃæleɪ|ʃæ'leɪ/ n 1 a usually wooden house or hut
with a steeply sloping roof, especially common in Swit-
zerland 2 especially BrE a small house (BUNGALOW) or hut,
especially in a holiday camp → compare LODGE²
'chalet party /'ʃæleɪ pɑːti/ n BrE a skiing (SKI) holiday during
which a number of people, especially young, single, and
wealthy people, stay in a chalet. The travel company employs
others to do the cooking and cleaning.
chal·ice /'tʃælɪs/ n a gold or silver decorated cup, used
especially to hold wine in Christian religious services
chalk¹ /tʃɔːk/ n 1 [U] a soft white or grey rock (LIMESTONE)
originally formed in ancient times from the shells of very
small sea animals: chalk hills | Some plants will not grow on
chalk. 2 [C;U] (a piece of) this substance, white or coloured,
used for writing or drawing: The teacher wrote on the black-
board with a piece of chalk. | a box of coloured chalks 3 as
different as chalk and cheese BrE infml completely unlike
each other
chalk² v [T(on, up)] to write, mark, or draw with chalk: to chalk
(up) political slogans on walls
chalk sthg. ⇔ out phr v [T] to describe in a general way, in
words or with drawings: The general chalked out his plan of
attack.
chalk sthg. ⇔ up phr v [T] infml 1 to succeed in getting
(especially points in a game): Our team has chalked up
another victory. 2 [(to, against)] to charge to, or record on,
someone's account or your own account: Chalk up the
drinks to me. | Anything you do wrong will be chalked up
against you.
chalk·board /'tʃɔːkbɔːd||-bɔːrd/ n AmE for BLACKBOARD
chalk·y /'tʃɔːki/ adj of or like (white) chalk: chalky soil | the
chalky whiteness of his face → -iness n [U]
chal·lenge¹ /'tʃælɪndʒ/ v [T] 1 [(to)] to invite (someone) to
compete against you in a fight, match etc: I challenged him
to a game of tennis. | [+obj+to-v] I challenge you to race me
across the lake. → compare DARE 2 to question the rightness,
legality etc of; DISPUTE: She challenged the authority of the
court. | Traditional female roles are constantly being chal-
lenged by contemporary feminists. 3 to test the abilities of (a
person or thing); STIMULATE: I only like to study something if
it really challenges me. | [+obj+v-ING] The difficulty of putting
our ideas into practice challenged us to find a new
method. 4 to stop and demand official proof of the name
and intentions of (someone): The sentry challenged the
stranger. 5 law to declare that you will not accept (a JUROR)
before the beginning of a case → -lenger n
challenge² n ·1 [C] an invitation to compete in a fight,
match etc: a challenge to a game of tennis | The President
faces a challenge to his leadership from his deputy. | [+to-v] He
accepted his friend's challenge to swim across the river. 2 [C]
a questioning of the rightness, legality etc of something:
This new report represents a challenge to the accepted version
of events. 3 [C;U] (something with) the quality of testing
strength, skill, or ability: One of the biggest challenges facing
the present government is that of creating new jobs and new
industries. | I'm looking for a job with a bit more chal-
lenge. 4 [C] a demand to stop and give proof of your name,
intentions etc: The stranger was met with the challenge "Who
goes there?" 5 [C] law a statement that you will not accept a
JUROR, made before the beginning of a case
chal·lenged /'tʃælɪndʒd/ adj euph DISABLED especially in the
stated way: [also n, the+P] special facilities for the visually
challenged (=blind people, or those who cannot see well).
Chal·len·ger /'tʃælɪndʒər/ a US SPACE SHUTTLE which
exploded after TAKEOFF on one of its flights in 1986, killing
all seven people inside. The terrible accident was watched
on television by many people and shocked the whole of the
US.
chal·len·ging /'tʃælɪndʒɪŋ/ adj needing the full use of your
abilities and effort; difficult, but in an interesting way: a
challenging problem | She finds her new job very challenging
cham·ber /'tʃeɪmbər/ n 1 old use a room, especially a bed-
room 2 (the hall used for meetings of) a usually elected
law-making body: In Britain the upper chamber of Parlia-
ment is the House of Lords, the lower the House of Com-
mons. 3 [often pl.] a room set aside for a special purpose:
Cases not dealt with in court are sometimes heard in the
judge's chambers. 4 an enclosed space, especially in a body
or machine: The heart has four chambers. | burial chambers
cham·ber·lain /'tʃeɪmbəlɪn||-bər-/ n an important official
who manages the affairs of a king's or nobleman's court
with regard to cleaning, cooking, buying food etc
Chamberlain, Neville /'nevɪl/ (1869-1940) a British politi-
cian in the CONSERVATIVE Party who was elected Prime
Minister in 1937. He was generally criticized for his policy of
APPEASEMENT towards Hitler's Germany (=agreeing to their
demands) and for British military failures at the beginning
of World War II. As a result he was replaced as Prime
Minister by Winston Churchill in 1940. People in the UK
remember him for using the phrase 'Peace in our time', and
for announcing on the radio that the UK was at war with
Germany. → see also MUNICH AGREEMENT
Chamberlain, Wilt (1936-99) a US BASKETBALL player
known as Wilt the 'Stilt because of his height (2.16 metres).
He set several records for the number of points he won.
cham·ber·maid /'tʃeɪmbəmeɪd||-ər-/ n a female servant
employed to clean and tidy bedrooms, especially in a hotel
'chamber music n [U] music written for a small group of
instruments and suitable for performance in a private home
or small hall
'chamber of 'commerce n [C+sing./pl. v] a group of busi-
nessmen, especially in a particular town or area, working
together for the purpose of improving trade
'chamber of 'horrors n a place in which very unpleasant or
frightening objects can be seen, especially the room which
shows models of famous criminals and murders in Madame
Tussaud's MUSEUM of WAXWORKS in London
'chamber orchestra n [C+sing./pl. v] a small group of
musicians, usually with one player for each instrument
part
'chamber pot n a round container for URINE, used in the
bedroom and kept under the bed in the past → compare
BEDPAN, POTTY
Cham·bers, Dwain /'tʃeɪmbəz||-ərz, dweɪn/ (1978-) a Brit-
ish SPRINTER (=someone who runs fast races over short
distances) who held the JUNIOR 100 metres world record. In
2003 he was BANNED from racing for two years because he
had taken an illegal drug in order to improve his perform-
ance, and he was also banned from ever competing in the
Olympics.