Seat vs. Chair — What's the Difference?

An official position or role.

A piece of furniture designed for one person to sit on with a back and typically four legs.

A location or space where someone can be situated.

A seat for a specific purpose.

A base or foundation for an object.

One of the basic pieces of furniture, a chair is a type of seat. Its primary features are two pieces of a durable material, attached as back and seat to one another at a 90° or slightly greater angle, with usually the four corners of the horizontal seat attached in turn to four legs—or other parts of the seat's underside attached to three legs or to a shaft about which a four-arm turnstile on rollers can turn—strong enough to support the weight of a person who sits on the seat (usually wide and broad enough to hold the lower body from the buttocks almost to the knees) and leans against the vertical back (usually high and wide enough to support the back to the shoulder blades).

A seat is a place to sit. The term may encompass additional features, such as back, armrest, head restraint but also headquarters in a wider sense.

A piece of furniture designed to accommodate one sitting or reclining person, providing support for the back and often the arms and typically standing on four legs.

A thing made or used for sitting on, such as a chair or stool.

A seat of office, authority, or dignity, such as that of a bishop.

A person's buttocks.

An office or position of authority, such as a professorship.

A place in an elected legislative or other body

A person who holds an office or a position of authority, such as one who presides over a meeting or administers a department of instruction at a college; a chairperson.

A principal site or location

The position of a player in an orchestra.

A part of a machine that supports or guides another part

(Slang) The electric chair.

Arrange for (someone) to sit somewhere

A seat carried about on poles; a sedan chair.

Fit in position

Any of several devices that serve to support or secure, such as a metal block that supports and holds railroad track in position.

Something, such as a chair or bench, that may be sat on

To preside over as chairperson

The part on which one rests in sitting

To install (someone) in a position of authority, especially as a presiding officer.

A place in which one may sit

To carry (someone) high off the ground in a chair or in a seated position, especially as a tribute.

The right to occupy such a place or a ticket indicating this right

An item of furniture used to sit on or in, comprising a seat, legs or wheels, back, and sometimes arm rests, for use by one person. Compare stool, couch, sofa, settee, loveseat and bench.

The buttocks.

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The part of a garment that covers the buttocks.

(music) The seating position of a particular musician in an orchestra.

A part serving as the base of something else.

(rail transport) An iron block used on railways to support the rails and secure them to the sleepers, and similar devices.

The surface or part on which another part sits or rests.

(chemistry) One of two possible conformers of cyclohexane rings (the other being boat), shaped roughly like a chair.

The place where something is located or based

Ellipsis of electric chair

A center of authority; a capital

(education) A distinguished professorship at a university.

A place of abode or residence, especially a large house that is part of an estate

A vehicle for one person; either a sedan borne upon poles, or a two-wheeled carriage drawn by one horse; a gig.

Membership in an organization, such as a legislative body or stock exchange, that is obtained by appointment, election, or purchase.

The seat or office of a person in authority, such as a judge or bishop.

The manner of sitting on a horse

(transitive) To act as chairperson at; to preside over.

To place in or on a seat.

(transitive) To carry in a seated position upon one's shoulders, especially in celebration or victory.

To cause or assist to sit down

To award a chair to (a winning poet) at a Welsh eisteddfod.

To provide with a particular seat

A movable single seat with a back.

To have or provide seats for

An official seat, as of a chief magistrate or a judge, but esp. that of a professor; hence, the office itself.

To install in a position of authority or eminence.

The presiding officer of an assembly; a chairman; as, to address the chair.

To fix firmly in place

A vehicle for one person; either a sedan borne upon poles, or two-wheeled carriage, drawn by one horse; a gig.

To rest on or fit into another part

An iron block used on railways to support the rails and secure them to the sleepers.

Something to be sat upon.

To place in a chair.

A place in which to sit.

To carry publicly in a chair in triumph.

The horizontal portion of a chair or other furniture designed for sitting.

To function as chairperson of (a meeting, committee, etc.); as, he chaired the meeting.

A piece of furniture made for sitting; e.g. a chair, stool or bench; any improvised place for sitting.

A seat for one person, with a support for the back;

The part of an object or individual (usually the buttocks) directly involved in sitting.

The position of professor;

The part of a piece of clothing (usually pants or trousers) covering the buttocks.

The officer who presides at the meetings of an organization;

(engineering) A part or surface on which another part or surface rests.

An instrument of execution by electrocution; resembles a chair;

A location or site.

Act or preside as chair, as of an academic department in a university;

(figurative) A membership in an organization, particularly a representative body.

Preside over;

The location of a governing body.

The role or position of the person in charge of a meeting or organization.

(certain Commonwealth countries) An electoral district, especially for a national legislature.

A designated position as a professor at a college or university.

A temporary residence, such as a country home or a hunting lodge.

An office or authority.

The place occupied by anything, or where any person, thing or quality is situated or resides; a site.

One of a series of departmental placements given to a trainee solicitor as part of their training contract.

(historical) Any of several autonomous regions in the medieval Kingdom of Hungary.

The starting point of a fire.

Posture, or way of sitting, on horseback.

(transitive) To put an object into a place where it will rest; to fix; to set firm.

(transitive) To provide with a place to sit.

(transitive) To request or direct one or more persons to sit.

To recognize the standing of a person or persons by providing them with one or more seats which would allow them to participate fully in a meeting or session.

(transitive) To assign the seats of.

(transitive) To cause to occupy a post, site, or situation; to station; to establish; to fix; to settle.

To rest; to lie down.

To settle; to plant with inhabitants.

(transitive) To put a seat or bottom in.

The place or thing upon which one sits; hence; anything made to be sat in or upon, as a chair, bench, stool, saddle, or the like.

The place occupied by anything, or where any person or thing is situated, resides, or abides; a site; an abode, a station; a post; a situation.

That part of a thing on which a person sits; as, the seat of a chair or saddle; the seat of a pair of pantaloons.

A sitting; a right to sit; regular or appropriate place of sitting; as, a seat in a church; a seat for the season in the opera house.

Posture, or way of sitting, on horseback.

A part or surface on which another part or surface rests; as, a valve seat.

To place on a seat; to cause to sit down; as, to seat one's self.

To cause to occupy a post, site, situation, or the like; to station; to establish; to fix; to settle.

To assign a seat to, or the seats of; to give a sitting to; as, to seat a church, or persons in a church.

To fix; to set firm.

To settle; to plant with inhabitants; as to seat a country.

To put a seat or bottom in; as, to seat a chair.

To rest; to lie down.

A space reserved for sitting (as in a theater or on a train or airplane);

The fleshy part of the human body that you sit on;

Furniture that is designed for sitting on;

Any support where you can sit (especially the part of a chair or bench etc. on which you sit);

A center of authority (as a city from which authority is exercised)

The cloth covering for the buttocks;

Show to a seat; assign a seat for;

Be able to seat;

Place ceremoniously or formally in an office or position;

Put a seat on a chair

Provide with seats;

A flat surface or area designed for sitting.

The part of a piece of furniture or vehicle used for sitting.

Yes, a chair functions as a seat, but not all seats are chairs.

Yes, for instance, the part of a sofa where one sits is called a "seat."

Yes, "seat" can denote an official position, like in a legislative body.

Yes, chairs can have various designs, including those with three legs, a single pedestal, or even no legs like bean bags.

No, a bench is a seat but not specifically a chair.

Yes, e.g., "seat someone" (to make someone sit) and "chair a meeting" (to lead a meeting).

It means to lead or be in charge of a meeting.

A chair typically has a backrest, while a seat may or may not.

Yes, it can refer to the part where a gemstone is set.

"Seat" has broader contexts, as it can be any surface for sitting or an official position.

It refers to a place where a person can sit, like in cars, buses, or planes.

No, it can also refer to abstract concepts like a "seat of power."

Yes, it can refer to a professorial position at a university.

A stool is an example.

"Chair" is more specific, often implying a design with a back and legs.