Definition

1. Noun:
   • An instrument of execution by electrocution; resembles an ordinary seat for one person: A device used for capital punishment, where a person is strapped into a chair and killed by a powerful electric current passed through the body.

Usage

• The term "electric chair" is used to refer specifically to the execution device itself.
• It is often used in legal, historical, and journalistic contexts when discussing the death penalty.
• The phrase "to die in the chair" or "to get the chair" is a colloquial way of saying to be executed by electrocution.

Examples

• Noun:
  • The state still uses the electric chair as a method of execution.
  • The convicted criminal was sentenced to death in the electric chair.
  • Historical debates often focus on the humanity of the electric chair.

Advanced Usage

• "to get the chair": (idiomatic) to be sentenced to death by electrocution.
  • After the trial, the public wondered if he would get the chair.
• "to die in the chair": to be executed via electrocution.
  • The murderer was sentenced to die in the chair.

Variants and Related Words

• Electrocution (n): The act or process of executing or killing someone with electricity.
  • Electrocution was once a common form of capital punishment.
• Execution chamber (n): The room where an execution, including by electric chair, takes place.

Synonyms

• Death chair (n): Another term for the electric chair.
• Hot seat (n): (slang) A term for the electric chair.

Related Phrases

• "Old Sparky": (slang, historical) A nickname given to specific electric chairs in some U.S. states.
  • The prison museum had "Old Sparky" on display.

Idioms

• "to be in the hot seat": (idiomatic) To be in a position of intense scrutiny or pressure. (Note: This idiom derives from the slang for the electric chair but is commonly used in non-lethal contexts).
  • The CEO was in the hot seat during the press conference about the scandal.

Noun

1. an instrument of execution by electrocution; resembles an ordinary seat for one person
   • the murderer was sentenced to die in the chair