1. Supervising or accompanying someone, typically a young person or group, to ensure their safety and good behavior. This is the most common meaning. Examples:
* "My parents are chaperoning the school dance."
* "We need a chaperone for the field trip."
2. Assisting in the folding or unfolding of proteins. This is a scientific meaning, referring to the process of chaperone proteins guiding other proteins to fold into their correct three-dimensional shape.
3. Guiding someone through a difficult or unfamiliar experience. This meaning is less common but still used sometimes. For example:
* "I was a chaperone for a new employee during their first week at the company."
To understand the specific meaning of "chaperoning" in a given context, it's important to pay attention to the surrounding words and the overall situation.