escort
Americannoun
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a group of persons, or a single person, accompanying another or others for protection, guidance, or courtesy.
An escort of sailors accompanied the queen.
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an armed guard, as a body of soldiers or ships.
The president traveled with a large escort of motorcycle police.
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a man or boy who accompanies a woman or girl in public, as to a social event.
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a person, especially a woman female escort, but sometimes a man male escort, who is paid to go on a date with a client, and usually to engage in sex acts for money.
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protection, safeguard, or guidance on a journey.
to travel without escort.
- Synonyms:
- convoy
verb (used with object)
noun
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one or more persons, soldiers, vehicles, etc, accompanying another or others for protection, guidance, restraint, or as a mark of honour
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a man or youth who accompanies a woman or girl
he was her escort for the evening
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-
a person, esp a young woman, who may be hired to accompany another for entertainment, etc
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( as modifier )
an escort agency
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verb
Synonym Usage
See accompany.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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escortsimple
-
escortssimple
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have escortedperfect
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has escortedperfect
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am escortingprogressive
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are escortingprogressive
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is escortingprogressive
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have been escortingperfect progressive
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has been escortingperfect progressive
Past
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escortedsimple
-
had escortedperfect
-
was escortingprogressive
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were escortingprogressive
-
had been escortingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of escort
First recorded in 1570–80; from French, from Italian scorta, derivative of scorgere “to conduct, guide,” from Vulgar Latin excorrigere (unrecorded); see ex- 1, correct
Explanation
When you go somewhere, whether it's for fun or business, it's always nice to have an escort — someone to go along with you. Some escorts are there to protect you, some just to share a good time. The word escort can be a noun or a verb — "your escort escorts you." This word is derived from the Latin excorrigere, "to set out," and moved through the Italian scorgere, meaning "to guide." In the 1570s it took on a military tone as escorte, used to describe armed protectors for travelers. In the 19th century it came to mean "accompanying a person on social occasions," although we still refer to military escorts today.
Vocabulary lists containing escort
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 26–31
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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Tears of a Tiger
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
In the dead of night on Friday, a large yellow truck led by a police escort made its way through the empty streets of London.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
At the hospital, Jack learns that the man behind the wheel was Governor George McRyan, a presidential hopeful polling extremely well in the primaries, who left a campaign event with Sally as his escort.
From Salon ● Jul. 4, 2026
The artwork will reportedly occupy a train of its own, emptied of everyone except conservators and guards, and a police escort will be provided on both sides of the Channel.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
For $4,500 a night, though, I feel like a room should come with a helicopter ride or police escort to the stadium, or at a minimum a free shuttle.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 16, 2026
Unfortunately, the akrafena isn’t wide enough to escort something as big as Flo through the thicket.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
And then “San Marcos el Fin” gently escorts the listener out of this particular room.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
Indian authorities deployed air force jets and paramilitary escorts, and temporarily blocked Telegram to secure the retest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 20, 2026
That refers to a “first group” of tankers or ship operators willing to cross the strait, likely with naval coordination and escorts.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
The Charles de Gaulle, the flagship of the French navy, and its escorts were transiting through the Suez Canal en route to the southern Red Sea, the defence ministry said.
From Barron's ● May 6, 2026
He holds each door open for her as he escorts her to the dining room.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
Queen Elizabeth II famously took part in the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony, appearing to skydive into the stadium from a helicopter with James Bond actor Daniel Craig, after he escorted her from Buckingham Palace.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
That night, they were escorted onto the baseball diamond in an armored car with a security detail of some 200 police officers in tow.
From Salon ● Jun. 26, 2026
Ellison was ultimately escorted into the Roosevelt Room.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
It added that the frigate had escorted Russian-flagged ships "heading to and from the Atlantic, Mediterranean and Baltic".
From Barron's ● Jun. 16, 2026
After that, twelve pages escorted him to a richly decorated table with four settings.
From "Adventures of Don Quixote" by Argentina Palacios
Police began escorting residents and campers back to properties and campsites to collect personal belongings on Sunday.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Nagraj, 46, managed the paid caregivers working at his in-laws’ house while coordinating doctors’ appointments for his father-in-law, and escorting him to them.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
Smaller than a destroyer but bigger than a corvette, they perform a range of missions at sea, from escorting bigger ships to mine warfare and hunting submarines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Local villagers whom he regularly employs to assist him in escorting groups up Dukono also did not tell him anything about the prohibition, he added.
From BBC ● May 11, 2026
She insisted on escorting us to the rest room and the cafeteria, and we thanked her.
From "Warriors Don't Cry: A Searing Memoir of the Battle to Integrate Little Rock's Central High" by Melba Pattillo Beals
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
