president
- 01 A2 Elementary
the highest leader of a country that does not have a king or queen.
the head of state in a republic, often holding executive power as the head of government in systems like that of the United States.
Simple“The president signed the new law during a ceremony at the capital.”
In context“In many parliamentary republics, the president serves a primarily ceremonial role, while the prime minister handles the daily administration of the government.”
- 02 B1 Intermediate
the person in charge of a large company or a part of a business.
the highest-ranking officer of a corporation or organization, often responsible for high-level strategy and reporting to a board of directors.
Simple“She was promoted to president of the company after ten years of hard work.”
In context“The president of the international division announced a major restructuring plan to improve efficiency across the European offices.”
- 03 B1 Intermediate
the person who leads a club, a university, or a small group.
the presiding officer of an organized body, such as a university, society, or committee.
Simple“The student president organized a protest against the new library fees.”
In context“As president of the local historical society, he spent his weekends archiving documents from the town's founding era.”
SynonymsAntonyms - 04 C1 Advanced
the person who is in charge of a specific meeting.
the individual appointed to preside over a specific meeting or assembly to maintain order and follow the agenda.
Simple“The president of the meeting asked everyone to be quiet so the vote could begin.”
In context“The president of the assembly ruled that the motion was out of order according to the established bylaws.”
UsageOften used in the context of formal parliamentary procedure.
Synonymschairpresider
Usage president made
From Old French president, from Latin praesidēns (“presiding over; president, leader”) (accusative: praesidentem). The Latin word is the substantivized present active participle of the verb praesideō (“preside over”). The verb is composed from prae (“before”) and sedeō (“sit”). The original meaning of the verb is 'to sit before' in the sense of presiding at a meeting. A secondary meaning of the verb is 'to command, to govern'. So praesidēns means 'the presiding one on a meeting' or 'governor, commander'.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.