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• archer
  archer

  noun

  a person who shoots with a bow and arrow; bowman.
• Archer
  Archer

  noun

  William, 1856–1924, Scottish playwright, drama critic, and translator.

archer

¹ American  

[ahr-cher] / ˈɑr tʃər /

noun

archers plural

1. a person who shoots with a bow and arrow; bowman.

2. Astronomy, Astrology. Archer, the constellation or sign of Sagittarius.

3. an archerfish.

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Archer ² American  

[ahr-cher] / ˈɑr tʃər /

noun

1. William, 1856–1924, Scottish playwright, drama critic, and translator.

2. a first name.

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Archer ¹ British  

/ ˈɑːtʃə /

noun

1. Frederick Scott. 1813–57, British inventor and sculptor. He developed (1851) the wet collodion photographic process, enabling multiple copies of pictures to be made

2. Jeffrey ( Howard ), Baron Archer of Weston-Super-Mare. born 1940, British novelist and Conservative politician. He was an MP from 1969 until 1974. His novels include Kane and Abel (1979), Honour Among Thieves (1993), and The Fourth Estate (1996): from 2001 to 2003 he was imprisoned for perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice

3. William. 1856–1924, Scottish critic and dramatist: made the first English translations of Ibsen

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Archer ² British  

/ ˈɑːtʃə /

noun

1. the constellation Sagittarius, the ninth sign of the zodiac

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archer ³ British  

/ ˈɑːtʃə /

noun

1. a person skilled in the use of a bow and arrow

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• archers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of archer

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French; Old French archier, from Late Latin arcuārius, equivalent to arcu-, stem of arcus “bow” ( see arc) + -ārius -ary

Explanation

If you enjoy shooting arrows at a target with a bow, you can call yourself an archer. Some archers compete in the Olympics. In ancient times, archers primarily used their bows and arrows to hunt for food or battle against enemies. There were also famous archers in mythology, including Artemis and Apollo in ancient Greece and Diana and Cupid in ancient Rome. Archer was an Anglo-French word first, from the Old French archier, "archer" or "bowmaker," from the Latin arcus, or "bow."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

archer Archer archers

Or an illustration of Donald Trump, as one past archer aimed for.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Midway through pursuing her master’s in 2011 she discovered a friend was a master archer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026

Feeling loose, feeling good, Stutzman began to wonder: Could he finish his storied career with something no armless archer had achieved — Paralympic gold?

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2024

Since being selected for Paris, the Welsh archer, already mum to toddler son Christian, wanted to send out a powerful message to women and her attendance at the Games has attracted worldwide media attention.

From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2024

In front of them, the fool Ivan sat silently behind the archer Ivan, and farther ahead, Håkon hunched on his archer’s horse.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

Neros’s drones, called Archer, cost about $2,000 each and about $5,000 once the warhead and related equipment are added.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026

Archer, who finished with figures of 2-20, wrapped up the India innings with a neat bit of footwork, kicking the ball on to the stumps to beat Axar Patel's run from the non-striker's end.

From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026

Pace bowlers Jofra Archer and Josh Tongue were sensational to ensure the world champions - including 15-year-old batting superstar Vaibhav Sooryavanshi - never got to grips with a chase of 202.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

And Archer calmly clipped the winning runs from the final ball of the 19th over to put England ahead going into the third match of the series at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.

From BBC ● Jul. 4, 2026

When Grandma and Mr. Archer were settled, positioned so they could watch the tree fire, I pulled out my phone.

From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows

Henry’s archers carried longbows that cost little, drawn by men trained in every village across the kingdom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

It was defended by a mix of infantry, archers, and cavalry drawn from across the Roman Empire.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2025

The 250 yards is a typical distance for castle-bashing, since the archers defending such strongholds struggled to hit targets much beyond that distance.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025

Archery GB, the national governing body for the sport of archery, said crossbows were "legitimately" used by archers shooting at targets.

From BBC ● Mar. 8, 2025

In the company of the archers, Anya rode straight past them.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

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