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• archer
  archer

  noun

  a person who shoots with a bow and arrow; bowman.
• Archer
  Archer

  noun

  William, 1856–1924, Scottish playwright, drama critic, and translator.

archer

¹ American  

[ahr-cher] / ˈɑr tʃər /

noun

• archers
  plural

1. a person who shoots with a bow and arrow; bowman.

2. Astronomy, Astrology. Archer, the constellation or sign of Sagittarius.

3. an archerfish.

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Archer ² American  

[ahr-cher] / ˈɑr tʃər /

noun

1. William, 1856–1924, Scottish playwright, drama critic, and translator.

2. a first name.

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Archer ¹ British  

/ ˈɑːtʃə /

noun

1. Frederick Scott. 1813–57, British inventor and sculptor. He developed (1851) the wet collodion photographic process, enabling multiple copies of pictures to be made

2. Jeffrey ( Howard ), Baron Archer of Weston-Super-Mare. born 1940, British novelist and Conservative politician. He was an MP from 1969 until 1974. His novels include Kane and Abel (1979), Honour Among Thieves (1993), and The Fourth Estate (1996): from 2001 to 2003 he was imprisoned for perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice

3. William. 1856–1924, Scottish critic and dramatist: made the first English translations of Ibsen

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Archer ² British  

/ ˈɑːtʃə /

noun

1. the constellation Sagittarius, the ninth sign of the zodiac

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archer ³ British  

/ ˈɑːtʃə /

noun

1. a person skilled in the use of a bow and arrow

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• archers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of archer

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French; Old French archier, from Late Latin arcuārius, equivalent to arcu-, stem of arcus “bow” ( see arc) + -ārius -ary

Explanation

If you enjoy shooting arrows at a target with a bow, you can call yourself an archer. Some archers compete in the Olympics. In ancient times, archers primarily used their bows and arrows to hunt for food or battle against enemies. There were also famous archers in mythology, including Artemis and Apollo in ancient Greece and Diana and Cupid in ancient Rome. Archer was an Anglo-French word first, from the Old French archier, "archer" or "bowmaker," from the Latin arcus, or "bow."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

archer Archer archers

In the field behind them, a scarecrow in the form of an archer, along with rags fluttering from lines of string, are meant to keep birds from scavenging the newly planted seeds.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

However, Badenoch accused the PM of "catching arrows rather than stopping the archer" in his approach.

From BBC ● Mar. 4, 2026

Historically, taming a horse meant “breaking it,” explains Junko Goda, a horseback archer who was Bae Doona’s stunt riding double in Zack Snyder’s “Rebel Moon.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 10, 2026

Chinese archer Ai Xinliang describes him as “sunshine, giving light to all disabled persons.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2024

She glanced back and forth between the archer and the princess.

From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack

For the ODIs, Jofra Archer is back in the pace attack after being rested for the tri-series in Pakistan in October.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Joby could launch air taxis in the United Arab Emirates in the next year, while Archer says its goal is to operate in Los Angeles in time for the 2028 Olympic Games.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

Joby filed a suit late last year alleging corporate espionage against Archer and George Kivork, a former Joby employee who left to work for Archer.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 7, 2026

She added that Archer was "not without flaw", but that "friends will recall him as an irrepressible life force through all the many differing chapters of his life".

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Sefia ran her hands along the edges of the book, fingering the leaves that protruded from the pages, until she found the soft blade of the feather Archer had given her.

From "The Reader" by Traci Chee

Henry’s archers carried longbows that cost little, drawn by men trained in every village across the kingdom.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026

The researchers draw parallels to human military history, where heavily armored knights were eventually replaced by specialized soldiers such as archers and crossbowmen.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 22, 2025

The identity of the archer, or archers, remains unknown.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 13, 2025

The 250 yards is a typical distance for castle-bashing, since the archers defending such strongholds struggled to hit targets much beyond that distance.

From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025

But even more would I give for a hundred good archers of Mirkwood.

From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien

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