president

noun · verb

Simple meaning

The head of state of a republic.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

prehzuhdent

Say the bold part a little louder.

US device voice

IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈpɹɛzədɛnt

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

noun

The head of state of a republic.
The person who holds the office of head of state of the United States government
“The President likes to jog every morning.”
The head administrative officer of a college or university
Primary leader of a corporation. Not to be confused with CEO, which is a related but separate position that is sometimes held by a different person.
A person presiding over a meeting; a chair, presiding officer, presider.

verb

To act as president; to do presidential duties.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty: A1 · Beginner
Frequency: Very Common
Typical Use: Everyday English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: The head of state of a republic.

Used this way, president is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Emotional tone: Neutral
Formality: Neutral
Intensity: Not strongly marked
How common: Moderately common
Connotation: Matter-of-fact
Usage feel: Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use president

“The President likes to jog every morning.”noun

Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Occupying

president bushfirst presidentformer presidentnew president

Other combinations

vice presidentelected president

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Word family

Words built from the same root.

presidentialadjectiveDerived adjective
Related to an executive officer of a firm or corporation.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

president bushnounCompound term
43rd President of the United States.
president carternounCompound term
39th President of the United States (1924-).
president clintonnounCompound term
42nd President of the United States (1946-).
president of the united statesnounCompound term
The person who holds the office of head of state of the United States government.
president theodore rooseveltnounCompound term
26th President of the United States.
executive vice presidentnounCompound term
A vice president holding executive power.

Related words

Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.

presidential directivenounRelated term
A directive issued by the President of the United States.
presidential termnounRelated term
The tenure of a president.
presidents' daynounRelated term
The third Monday in February.

Related Words

Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: head of state of a republic

chief executive

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