chauffeur

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UK/ʃɒˈfɜː/UK/ˈʃəʊfə/US/ʃoʊˈfɝ/US/ˈʃoʊfɚ/

noun

A person employed to drive a private motor car or a hired car of executive or luxury class (like a limousine).

Less commonScrabble 20

Meanings

chauffeur1

nounchauffeur (plural chauffeurs)

plural chauffeurs

  1. A person employed to drive a private motor car or a hired car of executive or luxury class (like a limousine).

    I can make money from the comfort of my sofa / So much drive, now I gotta get a chauffeur

    2024, “Hot One”, in King of the Mischievous South Vol. 2 (Hip Hop), performed by Denzel Curry, African-American Vernacular English
    2 more examples

    He fell into a reverie, a most dangerous state of mind for a chauffeur, since a fall into reverie on the part of a driver may mean a fall into a ravine on the part of the machine.

    1913, Robert Barr, chapter 3, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad

    Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis When I was dead broke, man, I couldn't picture this 50-inch screen, money-green leather sofa Got two rides, a limousine with a chauffeur

    1994, 2:40 from the start, in Juicy (Hip Hop), spoken by The Notorious B.I.G., African-American Vernacular English
  2. firefightingThe driver of a fire truck.

    Synonyms: engineer

verbchauffeur (third-person singular simple present chauffeurs, present participle chauffeuring, simple past and past participle chauffeured)

present singular third person chauffeurs · participle present chauffeuring · participle past chauffeured · past chauffeured

  1. intransitiveTo be, or act as, a chauffeur (driver of a motor car).

    "Old Pearson. He did gardening for us, and chauffeuring for my father. Such a dear old man - I've know him all my life."

    1951, John Wyndham, The Day of the Triffids, Harmondsworth: Penguin Books, published 1954, page 75
  2. transitiveTo transport (someone) in a motor vehicle.

    Synonyms: transport, bring, shuttle

Chauffeur2

nounChauffeur (plural Chauffeurs)

plural Chauffeurs

  1. historicalA brigand belonging to the bands who, around 1793, pillaged, burned, and killed in parts of France.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounThe driver of a fire truck.

Similar

verbTo transport (someone) in a motor vehicle.

More synonyms by meaning

verbdrive someone in a vehicle

Similar
drive around
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

chauffeur · noun, verb

  1. Proto-Indo-European*ḱleh₁-
  2. Proto-Indo-European*ḱl̥h₁éh₁yeti
  3. Proto-Italic*kalēō
  4. Latincaleō
  5. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁-
  6. Proto-Indo-European*dʰeh₁k-
  7. Proto-Indo-European*dʰh₁kyéti
  8. Proto-Italic*θakjō
  9. Proto-Italic*fakjō
  10. Latinfaciō
  11. Latincalefaciō
  12. Classical Latincalfaciō
  13. Vulgar Latin*calfō
  14. Old Frenchchaufer
  15. Middle Frenchchauffer
  16. Frenchchauffer
  17. Frenchchauffeur
  18. Englishchauffeur

Borrowed from French chauffeur.

Full word history & related roots →

Chauffeur · noun

  1. Frenchchauffeur“heater, stoker”
  2. EnglishChauffeur

From French chauffeur (“heater, stoker”), as they were said to burn the feet of their victims to extort money.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Arabic سائِق
  • سائِق (sāʔiq)person employed to drive a motor car
Bulgarian шофьо́р
  • шофьо́р (šofjór)person employed to drive a motor car
Catalan xofer, xòfer
  • xoferperson employed to drive a motor car
  • xòferperson employed to drive a motor car
Chinese Mandarin 司機 /司机
  • 司機 /司机 (sījī)person employed to drive a motor car
Czech šofér, řidič
  • šoférperson employed to drive a motor car
  • řidičperson employed to drive a motor car
Danish chauffør
  • chaufførperson employed to drive a motor car
Dutch privéchauffeur
  • privéchauffeurperson employed to drive a motor car
Esperanto ŝoforo, ŝoforino
  • ŝoforoperson employed to drive a motor car
  • ŝoforinoperson employed to drive a motor car
  • ŝoforiintransitive: to be, or act as a chauffeur
  • konduki aŭtomobiletransitive: to transport someone in a motor car
  • veturigitransitive: to transport someone in a motor car
  • ŝoforitransitive: to transport someone in a motor car
Estonian autojuht
  • autojuhtperson employed to drive a motor car
Finnish autonkuljettaja, kuljettaja
  • autonkuljettajaperson employed to drive a motor car
  • kuljettajaperson employed to drive a motor car
  • sofööriperson employed to drive a motor car
  • safööriperson employed to drive a motor car
  • ajaaintransitive: to be, or act as a chauffeur
  • kuljettaatransitive: to transport someone in a motor car
  • ajaatransitive: to transport someone in a motor car
  • kyyditätransitive: to transport someone in a motor car
French chauffeur, chauffeuse
  • chauffeurperson employed to drive a motor car
  • chauffeuseperson employed to drive a motor car
German Chauffeur, Chauffeurin
  • Chauffeurperson employed to drive a motor car
  • Chauffeurinperson employed to drive a motor car
  • Chauffeuseperson employed to drive a motor car
  • Berufschauffeurperson employed to drive a motor car
  • Berufschauffeurinperson employed to drive a motor car
  • Schofförperson employed to drive a motor car
  • Schofförinperson employed to drive a motor car
  • chauffierenintransitive: to be, or act as a chauffeur
  • chauffierentransitive: to transport someone in a motor car
  • herumfahrentransitive: to transport someone in a motor car
Greek οδηγός, σιοφέρης
  • οδηγός (odigós)person employed to drive a motor car
  • σιοφέρης (sioféris)person employed to drive a motor car
Hungarian sofőr, tűzoltóautó-vezető
  • sofőrperson employed to drive a motor car
  • tűzoltóautó-vezetőfire truck driver
  • tűzoltóautó-sofőrfire truck driver
Icelandic bílstjóri, einkabílstjóri
  • bílstjóriperson employed to drive a motor car
  • einkabílstjóriperson employed to drive a motor car
Indonesian supir, sopir
  • supirperson employed to drive a motor car
  • sopirperson employed to drive a motor car
Italian chauffeur, autista
  • chauffeurperson employed to drive a motor car
  • autistaperson employed to drive a motor car
Japanese 運転手
  • 運転手 (untenshu)person employed to drive a motor car
Korean 운전사, 기사
  • 운전사 (unjeonsa)person employed to drive a motor car
  • 기사 (gisa)person employed to drive a motor car
Latvian vadītājs, šoferis
  • vadītājsperson employed to drive a motor car
  • šoferisperson employed to drive a motor car
Lithuanian vairuotojas, šoferis
  • vairuotojasperson employed to drive a motor car
  • šoferisperson employed to drive a motor car
Malay pemandu, drebar
  • pemanduperson employed to drive a motor car
  • drebarperson employed to drive a motor car
  • supirperson employed to drive a motor car
Norwegian Bokmål sjåfør
  • sjåførperson employed to drive a motor car
Persian شوفر
  • شوفر (šofer)person employed to drive a motor car
Polish szofer, szoferka
  • szoferperson employed to drive a motor car
  • szoferkaperson employed to drive a motor car
Portuguese motorista, chofer
  • motoristaperson employed to drive a motor car
  • choferperson employed to drive a motor car
Romanian șofer
  • șoferperson employed to drive a motor car
Russian шофёр, персона́льный води́тель
  • шофёр (šofjór)person employed to drive a motor car
  • персона́льный води́тель (personálʹnyj vodítelʹ)person employed to drive a motor car
  • води́тель (vodítelʹ)person employed to drive a motor car
  • води́тельница (vodítelʹnica)person employed to drive a motor car
Slovak šofér, vodič
  • šoférperson employed to drive a motor car
  • vodičperson employed to drive a motor car
Spanish chófer, chofer
  • chóferperson employed to drive a motor car
  • choferperson employed to drive a motor car
  • chaufferperson employed to drive a motor car
  • chafirite (despective)person employed to drive a motor car
  • chafirita (despective)person employed to drive a motor car
Swedish chaufför
  • chaufförperson employed to drive a motor car
Thai คนขับ
  • คนขับ (kon-kàp)person employed to drive a motor car
Turkish şoför, sürücü
  • şoförperson employed to drive a motor car
  • sürücüperson employed to drive a motor car
Ukrainian шофе́р, во́дій
  • шофе́р (šofér)person employed to drive a motor car
  • во́дій (vódij)person employed to drive a motor car
Vietnamese tài xế
  • tài xếperson employed to drive a motor car
Yiddish שאָפֿער, שאָפֿערשע
  • שאָפֿער (shofer)person employed to drive a motor car
  • שאָפֿערשע (shofershe)person employed to drive a motor car

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with chauffeur

All rhymes →

Sounds the same

shofar (some pronunciations of both words)shofar (some pronunciations of both words)
Cite this entry
APA

chauffeur. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chauffeur

MLA

“chauffeur.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chauffeur. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “chauffeur,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/chauffeur.

Source: chauffeur on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.