chaperone
noun
chap·er·one
| \ ˈsha-pə-ˌrōn
\
\
variants:
or less commonly chaperon
Definition of chaperone
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: a person (such as a matron) who for propriety (see propriety sense 2) accompanies one or more young unmarried women in public or in mixed company
2
: an older person who accompanies young people at a social gathering to ensure proper behavior
broadly
: one delegated to ensure proper behavior
I was a chaperone on one of my son's class trips.
3
: any of a class of proteins (such as heat-shock proteins) that facilitate the proper folding of proteins by binding to and stabilizing unfolded or partially folded proteins
— called also molecular chaperone