alderman

noun

al·​der·​man ˈȯl-dər-mən 

1

: a person governing a kingdom, district, or shire as viceroy for an Anglo-Saxon king

2

a

: a magistrate formerly ranking next below the mayor in an English or Irish city or borough

b

: a high-ranking member of a borough or county council in Ireland or formerly in England chosen by elected members

3

: a member of a city legislative body

aldermanic

ˌȯl-dər-ˈma-nik 

adjective

Examples of alderman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Irvin has been the mayor of Aurora since 2017 and before that was an alderman at-large for 10 years in the city. —R. Christian Smith, Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb. 2025

Former Black Panther and longtime Chicago alderman Bobby Rush encouraged Butler to run for the Cook County Board of Commissioners in 1985, where the singer served three four-year terms before his retirement from public office in 2018. —Gil Kaufman, Billboard, 21 Feb. 2025

In Milwaukee’s East Side on Tuesday, voters were supposed to be braving the cold to choose a new alderman, but next to the Firehouse Station 6 polling site, a water main broke after frost penetrated it, blocking off access. —Nazaneen Ghaffar, New York Times, 18 Feb. 2025

Raymond and Barbara Stapleton both spent time serving on the board of aldermen – and both fought efforts by other board members to remove them. —Jonathan Shorman, Kansas City Star, 16 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Old English ealdorman, from ealdor parent (from eald old) + man — more at old

First Known Use

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for alderman

• aldermen

Kids Definition

alderman

noun

al·​der·​man ˈȯl-dər-mən 

: a member of a city legislative body

aldermanic

ˌȯl-dər-ˈman-ik 

adjective

Legal Definition

alderman

noun

al·​der·​man ˈȯl-dər-mən 

: a member of a city legislative body