archer
noun
a person who shoots with a bow and arrow; bowman.
Showing results for archer.
archer
1 American
[ahr-cher]
/ ˈɑr tʃər /
noun
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archers
plural
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a person who shoots with a bow and arrow; bowman.
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Astronomy, Astrology. Archer, the constellation or sign of Sagittarius.
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an archerfish.
Archer
2
American
[ahr-cher]
/ ˈɑr tʃər /
noun
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William, 1856–1924, Scottish playwright, drama critic, and translator.
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a first name.
Archer
1
British
/ ˈɑːtʃə /
noun
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Frederick Scott. 1813–57, British inventor and sculptor. He developed (1851) the wet collodion photographic process, enabling multiple copies of pictures to be made
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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
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William. 1856–1924, Scottish critic and dramatist: made the first English translations of Ibsen
Archer
2
British
/ ˈɑːtʃə /
noun
archer
3
British
/ ˈɑːtʃə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
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."
Vocabulary lists containing archer
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:
Or an illustration of Donald Trump, as one past archer aimed for.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
She’s also been an archer for more than 15 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
Feeling loose, feeling good, Stutzman began to wonder: Could he finish his storied career with something no armless archer had achieved — Paralympic gold?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2024
The 17-year-old from Jammu district was born with phocomelia, a rare congenital disorder, making her the world’s first - and only active - female archer to compete without arms.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2024
The second archer fired; then the third, and the fourth.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
Archer Aviation’s stock is flying higher after the company agreed to buy three business units from Boeing.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 11, 2026
Archer Aviation stock surges after announcing it’s acquiring several of Boeing’s subsidiaries.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
Archer shares rose nearly 7% in midday trading Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 10, 2026
Boeing is getting leaner — and in the process, Archer Aviation’s stock is getting a big boost.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
Archer swallowed so hard Sefia felt his entire body shudder.
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 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
Their match marked the first time two such archers faced each other at the Paralympics.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2024
They were round, and stuck out from the wall into the moat, so that the archers could shoot in all directions and command every part of the wall.
From "The Once and Future King" by T. H. White
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.
