er
[ uh, er ]
/ ə, ər /
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interjection
(used to express or represent a pause, hesitation, uncertainty, etc.).
QUIZ
THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?
Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.
Question 1 of 7
In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…
WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH er
er , errOther definitions for er (2 of 13)
Er
Symbol, Chemistry.
erbium.
Other definitions for er (3 of 13)
Other definitions for er (4 of 13)
-er1
a suffix used in forming nouns designating persons from the object of their occupation or labor (hatter; tiler; tinner; moonshiner), or from their place of origin or abode (Icelander; southerner; villager), or designating either persons or things from some special characteristic or circumstance (six-footer; three-master; teetotaler; fiver; tenner).
a suffix serving as the regular English formative of agent nouns, being attached to verbs of any origin (bearer; creeper; employer; harvester; teacher; theorizer).
Origin of -er
1Middle English -er(e), a coalescence of Old English -ere agentive suffix (cognate with Old High German -āri, Gothic -areis, from unattested Germanic -arjaz, from unattested Slavic -arĭ, from Latin -ārius ) and Old English -ware suffix forming nouns of ethnic or residential origin (e.g., Rōmware “Romans”), cognate with Old High German -āri, from unattested Germanic -warioz “people”; see origin at -ary
Other definitions for er (5 of 13)
-er2
a noun suffix occurring in loanwords from French in the Middle English period, most often names of occupations (archer; butcher; butler; carpenter; grocer; mariner; officer), but also other nouns (corner; danger; primer). Some historical instances of this suffix, as in banker or gardener, where the base is a recognizable modern English word, are now indistinguishable from denominal formations with -er1, as miller or potter.
Other definitions for er (6 of 13)
-er3
a termination of nouns denoting action or process: dinner; rejoinder; remainder; trover.
Origin of -er
3<French, originally infinitive suffix -er, -re
Other definitions for er (7 of 13)
-er4
a suffix regularly used in forming the comparative degree of adjectives: harder; smaller.
Origin of -er
4Middle English -er(e), -re,Old English -ra, -re; cognate with German -er
Other definitions for er (8 of 13)
-er5
a suffix regularly used in forming the comparative degree of adverbs: faster.
Origin of -er
5Middle English -er(e), -re,Old English -or; cognate with Old High German -or,German -er
Other definitions for er (9 of 13)
-er6
a formal element appearing in verbs having frequentative meaning: flicker; flutter; shiver; shudder.
Origin of -er
6Middle English; Old English -r-; cognate with German -(e)r-
Other definitions for er (10 of 13)
-er7
a suffix that creates informal or jocular mutations of more neutral words, which are typically clipped to a single syllable if polysyllabic, before application of the suffix, and which sometimes undergo other phonetic alterations: bed-sitter; footer; fresher; rugger. Most words formed thus have been limited to English public-school and university slang; few, if any, have become current in North America, with the exception of soccer, which has also lost its earlier informal character.
Compare -ers.
Origin of -er
7Probably modeled on nonagentive uses of -er1; said to have first become current in University College, Oxford, 1875–80
Other definitions for er (11 of 13)
E.R.1
abbreviation
King Edward.
Origin of E.R.
1From New Latin Edwardus Rex
Other definitions for er (12 of 13)
E.R.2
abbreviation
Queen Elizabeth.
Origin of E.R.
2From New Latin Elizabeth Regina
Other definitions for er (13 of 13)
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
How to use er in a sentence
British Dictionary definitions for er (1 of 6)
er1
/ (ə, ɜː) /
interjection
a sound made when hesitating in speech
British Dictionary definitions for er (2 of 6)
er2
the internet domain name for
Eritrea
British Dictionary definitions for er (3 of 6)
Er
the chemical symbol for
erbium
British Dictionary definitions for er (4 of 6)
ER
abbreviation for
(in the US) Emergency Room (in hospitals)
Elizabeth Regina
Eduardus Rex
Word Origin for ER
Latin: Queen Elizabeth
British Dictionary definitions for er (5 of 6)
-er1
suffix forming nouns
a person or thing that performs a specified actionreader; decanter; lighter
a person engaged in a profession, occupation, etcwriter; baker; bootlegger
a native or inhabitant ofislander; Londoner; villager
a person or thing having a certain characteristicnewcomer; double-decker; fiver
Word Origin for -er
Old English -ere; related to German -er, Latin -ārius
British Dictionary definitions for er (6 of 6)
-er2
suffix
forming the comparative degree of adjectives (deeper, freer, sunnier, etc) and adverbs (faster, slower, etc)
Word Origin for -er
Old English -rd, -re (adj), -or (adv)
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Scientific definitions for er
Er
The symbol for erbium.
The American Heritage® Science Dictionary
Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.