suitor

American  

[soo-ter] / ˈsu tər /

noun

1. a man who courts or woos a woman.

2. Law. a petitioner or plaintiff.

3. a person who sues or petitions for anything.

4. Informal. an individual who seeks to buy a business.

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suitor British  

/ ˈsuːtə, ˈsjuːt- /

noun

1. a man who courts a woman; wooer

2. law a person who brings a suit in a court of law; plaintiff

3. rare a person who makes a request or appeal for anything

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Etymology

Origin of suitor

1250–1300; Middle English s ( e ) utor, suitour < Anglo-French < Latin secūtor, equivalent to secū-, variant stem of sequī to follow + -tor -tor

Explanation

A suitor is a guy who asks you out on a date. You can describe your sister's prom escort as her suitor. The noun suitor is an old fashioned word for a somewhat old fashioned kind of person: a man who woos or courts a woman. If a boy serenades you from below your bedroom window, he is your suitor, especially if he hopes to marry you one day. In the fourteenth century, a suitor was a fan or follower — the romantic meaning came along almost two hundred years later. The root is the Latin word sequi, "to attend or follow."

Example Sentences

After such a steep selloff in Brown-Forman’s stock, there is reason to believe it has become attractive to a suitor.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026

Discovery, the winning suitor will likely overpay and take on billions in debt, Barron’s Andrew Bary reports.

From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026

Bernstein’s Harshita Rawat wrote Monday that she thought private equity would be the most likely suitor for PayPal in its entirety, in part due to the company’s “pristine balance sheet.”

From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026

Discovery said it would restart deal talks, setting the stage for a potential bidding war with its preferred suitor Netflix.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026

“He’s one serious suitor, and he’s proving it this minute.”

From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck

Related Words

• admirer
• beau
• boyfriend
• lover
• paramour