sire

American  

[sahy^uhr] / saɪər /

noun

• sires
  plural

1. the male parent of a quadruped.

2. a respectful term of address, now used only to a male sovereign.

3. Archaic.

   1. a father or forefather.

   2. a person of importance or in a position of authority, as a lord.

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verb (used with object)

• sires,
  present (3rd person singular)
• sired,
  past participle,  past
• siring
  present participle

1. to beget; procreate as the father.

sire British  

/ saɪə /

noun

1. a male parent, esp of a horse or other domestic animal

2. a respectful term of address, now used only in addressing a male monarch

3. obsolete a man of high rank

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verb

1. (tr) (esp of a domestic animal) to father; beget

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• sireless
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• sires
  plural

Participles

• siring
  present
• sired
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• sire
  simple
• sires
  simple
• have sired
  perfect
• has sired
  perfect
• am siring
  progressive
• are siring
  progressive
• is siring
  progressive
• have been siring
  perfect progressive
• has been siring
  perfect progressive

Past

• sired
  simple
• had sired
  perfect
• was siring
  progressive
• were siring
  progressive
• had been siring
  perfect progressive

Future

• will sire
  simple
• will have sired
  perfect
• will be siring
  progressive
• will have been siring
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of sire

1175–1225; Middle English < Old French (nominative singular) < Vulgar Latin *seior, for Latin senior senior (compare French monsieur originally, my lord, with sieur < *seiōr-, oblique stem of *seior )

Explanation

A sire is an animal's father. A newborn foal might look very much like his sire, with a white stripe on his brown face. Every once in a while, the word sire is used for a human — your dad is your sire — but it's much more common to find this word describing an animal's male parent. It's also a verb, meaning "to father," as in "My prize pig sires the cutest piglets." In the old days, you'd also use sire to directly address a nobleman or a king. It comes from the Latin word senior, "elder."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

sire sires sired siring

Three years on, the Purosangue remains an astonishing presence on any street, a provocation, an outrage, a moral panic—indeed, sire, very like a Ferrari.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 18, 2026

The average breeding-purebred male dog, called a sire, will father more than 100 puppies.

From Slate ● Oct. 9, 2023

O’Neill, jockey Mario Gutierrez and owners Paul and Zillah Reddam won the 2016 Kentucky Derby with Nyquist, who is the sire of Slow Down Andy.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2023

A corner stall in the stallion barn still bears Secretariat’s name and that of his sire, Bold Ruler, among those of other elites who have inhabited the space.

From Seattle Times ● Jun. 10, 2023

“I am not doing a capable job, sire; please forgive me and believe me when I say that my failures were those of the body and mind and not of the heart.”

From "The Princess Bride" by William Goldman

The mare was sired by Northern Dancer, the first Canadian-bred horse to win the Kentucky Derby in 1964 who went on to become one of the sport’s greatest sires.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 6, 2023

He will join Dubawi, Frankel and Into Mischief among the most valuable sires in horse racing.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2022

Rickard said this compared to recently frozen semen from 19 sires used to inseminate 1,048 ewes, of which 618 were successfully impregnated.

From The Guardian ● Mar. 18, 2019

Oatley and his colleagues are now working to develop surrogate pig sires.

From Nature ● Mar. 13, 2019

He would run in two more minor races, winning both, then go on to become one of the breed’s great sires.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand

On his deathbed, however, he had a change of heart and left his fortune to the creation of a refuge for children like the one he sired and abandoned.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 23, 2025

He was sired by Curlin with Mopotism as the mare.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2025

He has sired five chicks and, alongside his partner is considered “the most dominant condor pair in the park,” according to the Oregon Zoo.

From Seattle Times ● May 9, 2024

Mouse pups sired by dysbiotic fathers showed significantly lower birth weights and an increased rate of postnatal mortality.

From Science Daily ● May 1, 2024

Ma said, “He was sired by Grand Sha-vois!”

From "The Journey of Little Charlie" by Christopher Paul Curtis

Paramount Global has created numerous spin-offs of its main cable channels, with Nickelodeon siring five programming offspring, Nick Jr., Nick at Nite, TeenNick, Nicktoons and Nick Music.

From Reuters ● Sep. 14, 2023

A Dutch court banned a man Friday from donating any more of his sperm after his donations led to the siring of 550 to 600 children.

From Washington Times ● Apr. 28, 2023

"Females benefit by preventing these unwanted males from siring any of her young. That means her chosen partner gets most of the paternity, and therefore she gains the benefit through her offspring," says Dr Brennan.

From Salon ● Jul. 25, 2021

There would likely still have been a sectarian power struggle over a weakened state, siring a civil war and brewing regional tensions.

From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2018

To me has been given the privilege of siring a man, and I shall not affront him with requests for further favors.

From The Pride of Palomar by Kyne, Peter B. (Peter Bernard)