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• usher
  usher

  noun

  a person who escorts people to seats in a theater, church, etc.
• Usher
  Usher

  noun

  James. Ussher, James.

usher

¹ American  

[uhsh-er] / ˈʌʃ ər /

noun

• ushers
  plural

1. a person who escorts people to seats in a theater, church, etc.

2. a person acting as an official doorkeeper, as in a courtroom or legislative chamber.

3. a male attendant of a bridegroom at a wedding.

4. an officer whose business it is to introduce strangers or to walk before a person of rank.

5. British Archaic. a subordinate teacher or an assistant in a school.

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verb (used with object)

• ushers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ushered,
  past participle,  past
• ushering
  present participle

1. to act as an usher to; lead, introduce, or conduct.

   She ushered them to their seats.

2. to attend or bring at the coming or beginning; precede or herald (usually followed byin ).

   to usher in the new theater season.

verb (used without object)

• ushers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ushered,
  past participle,  past
• ushering
  present participle

1. to act as an usher.

   He ushered at the banquet.

Usher ² American  

[uhsh-er] / ˈʌʃ ər /

noun

1. James. Ussher, James.

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usher ¹ British  

/ ˈʌʃə /

noun

1. an official who shows people to their seats, as in a church or theatre

2. a person who acts as doorkeeper, esp in a court of law

3. (in England) a minor official charged with maintaining order in a court of law

4. an officer responsible for preceding persons of rank in a procession or introducing strangers at formal functions

5. obsolete a teacher

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verb

1. to conduct or escort, esp in a courteous or obsequious way

2. (usually foll by in) to be a precursor or herald (of)

Usher ² British  

/ ˈʌʃə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of (James) Ussher

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underusher
  noun
• ushership
  noun
• unushered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ushers
  plural

Participles

• ushering
  present
• ushered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• usher
  simple
• ushers
  simple
• have ushered
  perfect
• has ushered
  perfect
• am ushering
  progressive
• are ushering
  progressive
• is ushering
  progressive
• have been ushering
  perfect progressive
• has been ushering
  perfect progressive

Past

• ushered
  simple
• had ushered
  perfect
• was ushering
  progressive
• were ushering
  progressive
• had been ushering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will usher
  simple
• will have ushered
  perfect
• will be ushering
  progressive
• will have been ushering
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of usher

1350–1400; Middle English uscher doorkeeper < Anglo-French usser, Old French ( h ) uissier doorman, officer of justice < Vulgar Latin *ustiārius, equivalent to Latin ōsti ( um ) door + -ārius -ary; see -er ²

Explanation

That guy who guided you to your seat? He's called an usher. You most often see ushers at movie theaters and weddings. An usher is someone with the job of helping people find their seats. At the movies, ushers take your tickets and tell you where to go. At some theaters and sports venues, the ushers might actually take you to your seat — they usher you there. If you're an usher in a wedding party, it's your job to walk guests down the aisle and to their seats. The doorkeeper at a courtroom or legislative chamber is called an usher, too.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

usher Usher ushers ushered ushering

With this new test, SpaceX hopes to usher in an "exciting new phase" of development that will include, among other things, tests of refueling the rocket in orbit.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

The show famously had an early ally in Lucille Ball, who, through her Desilu Productions, helped usher “Star Trek” through two pilots before NBC picked it up.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026

Series eight contestant Paris Baby feels the new season will usher in a "drag renaissance"

From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026

Rising bond yields could usher in elevated interest rates, resulting in higher borrowing costs; this can draw capital away from equities and into bonds.

From MarketWatch ● Sep. 2, 2026

“Nell, you are to go by the name Ali from hence forward. When I ring the bell, you are to usher our visitors in or out. Do you understand?”

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Usher was not on stage when either honor was presented.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026

Sleater-Kinney and Phair’s co-headlining tour happens to follow a flood of co-headlining tours this year, from indie acts like Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman to big marquee names like Usher and Chris Brown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026

Artwork by his son Naviyd is featured on the walls, while an enlarged drawing of a tattoo that Usher has on his chin has been turned into a decorative ceiling mural.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

Karen Usher was 21 when she joined the Royal Air Force in 1990, and says years of feeling forced to hide her sexuality left her suffering a "mini-breakdown" while deployed in Italy.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

He was an Usher of wandering souls, a servant to the all-knowing Afterlife, and although he was not in Deadwood, he did carry some authority, didn’t he?

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Howie Buffett’s appointment as chairman ushers in a new era at Berkshire, and puts the conglomerate in uncharted territory.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 19, 2026

Every day, diligent ushers stood like bouncers at the court's heavy, soundproof doors.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

It was a blur of champagne, full sized In-N-Out cheeseburgers, chic ushers wearing Dior uniforms with snug grey sweaters and slacks that pooled perfectly at the leg.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

The tiny white and pink petals of cherry flowers, known as sakura, herald the start of spring in Japan, and full bloom ushers in a brief period of boisterous outdoor parties held by residents.

From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026

A servant ushers me to the only seat at the table.

From "The Belles" by Dhonielle Clayton

The condemned woman was "loudly snoring, clearly very alive" as the journalists were ushered out of the area, Chandler told CBS.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

Explosive relationship scandals have ushered in a new era of reality TV intrigue in recent years.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026

After the second World War, Enver Hoxha ushered in a severely isolated and repressive Communist regime.

From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026

BlueCo's £4.25bn purchase of Chelsea ended Roman Abramovich's 19-year ownership and ushered in a period of significant squad turnover.

From BBC ● Aug. 30, 2026

My aunt ushered us out of that coal shed towards the big house.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

The wait is over, and the Vision Theatre Performing Arts Center is preparing to reopen, ushering in a new era of performance, events and Black culture in Leimert Park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026

He’s uniquely responsible for ushering in an age of barbarism and will spend the rest of his life making amends in the fallen world he helped create.

From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026

Now he has been ejected from power by his own party and instead of ushering in a "decade of national renewal," as he had promised, he is contemplating a return to the back benches.

From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026

At the same time, SpaceX in 2015 successfully landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket, ushering in the age of partially reusable rockets.

From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026

“Oh, hello!” my mother answered, ushering Mrs. Leftwich into our home.

From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson

Related Words

• escort
• initiate
• precede
• steer