squire
Americannoun
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(in England) a country gentleman, especially the chief landed proprietor in a district.
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(in the Middle Ages) a young man of noble birth who as an aspirant to knighthood served a knight.
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a personal attendant, as of a person of rank.
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a man who accompanies or escorts a woman.
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a title applied to a justice of the peace, local judge, or other local dignitary of a rural district or small town.
verb (used with object)
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to attend as, or in the manner of, a squire.
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to escort (a woman), as to a dance or social gathering.
noun
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a country gentleman in England, esp the main landowner in a rural community
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feudal history a young man of noble birth, who attended upon a knight
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rare a man who courts or escorts a woman
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informal a term of address used by one man to another, esp, unless ironic, to a member of a higher social class
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an immature snapper See snapper
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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squiresimple
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squiressimple
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have squiredperfect
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has squiredperfect
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am squiringprogressive
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are squiringprogressive
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is squiringprogressive
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have been squiringperfect progressive
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has been squiringperfect progressive
Past
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squiredsimple
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had squiredperfect
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was squiringprogressive
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were squiringprogressive
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had been squiringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of squire
1250–1300; Middle English squier; aphetic variant of esquire
Explanation
Squire is a British term for a country landowner or gentleman. You can use squire to describe a refined and powerful man, or as a verb meaning to escort: when the queen visited, the police chief squired her around town. You'll encounter squires in 19th-century English novels, and you'll need to understand who they are if you're going to get the subtle class distinctions that often drive the plots of these novels. During feudal times squires were young men who assisted knights. For their loyalty, they were given land, making them and their descendants rich and powerful. If you had land, you could live off the rent your tenant farmers paid, and you’d be free to be a gentleman.
Vocabulary lists containing squire
Medieval Europe - Introductory
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 11
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The Odyssey
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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:
Near the start, when Dunk reluctantly accepts Egg as his squire, he set the terms of their relationship in a dark field outside the town where the tourney that births their legend takes place.
From Salon ● Feb. 23, 2026
The latest spinoff of “Game of Thrones” is set 100 years before the events of the original series, centering around a hedge knight named Dunk, played by Peter Claffey, and his squire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 25, 2026
Martin’s novella series “Tales of Dunk and Egg,” stars Peter Claffey as a wandering knight and Dexter Sol Ansell as his squire, who is secretly a Targaryen prince.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 18, 2026
It follows the adventures of Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire, Egg.
From BBC ● Dec. 28, 2025
“No. I always wanted to be. Usually I was a squire or someone lowly.”
From "The Book of Dust: La Belle Sauvage" by Philip Pullman
We’re obviously very thematically about fathers and sons, knights and squires, and, to a certain extent brothers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 22, 2026
McCurdie said new hires, referred to as squires, are making near minimum wage.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 31, 2022
The sort of — low gentry squires, vicar's sons, this sort of thing.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2019
The woman defended her choice, claiming her family is descended from a long line of “both squires and senators.”
From Fox News ● Dec. 9, 2018
Tyrion glanced down and saw the Hound standing with young Joffrey as squires swarmed around them.
From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin
My 14-year-old son recently sent me a photo of our dog, Sugaree, taken last December as she was squired about town.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 22, 2025
Hollywood executives were eager to set him up with starlets, whom Kissinger squired to premieres and showy restaurants, according to Isaacson.
From Seattle Times ● Nov. 29, 2023
He came to California in 1926 and squired around silent movie actress Aileen Pringle.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 11, 2023
Guide Jerry Hahn squired us through the ghost town of Rhyolite, past the tailings of gold and lead mines, over bumpy mining roads, and finally into the twisty curves of Titus Canyon.
From Washington Post ● Apr. 29, 2021
"I am. I was bom on the Doroish Marches, Your Grace. As a boy I squired for a knight of Lord Swann's household."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
Tonight, Matt’s working in the pit of an ill-fated musical adaptation of “Harold and Maude,” and Dick is squiring the actress Dolores Gray, one of many renowned figures who make persuasive appearances throughout the novel.
From Washington Post ● Feb. 6, 2023
Treating this kind of team-wide malaise doesn’t necessarily mean culling the entire team, or even squiring off its oldest players with a testimonial and a watch.
From Slate ● Aug. 2, 2021
So is squiring musician Grimes to the Met Gala.
From The Verge ● May 8, 2021
During her second year, Ayad ended up squiring around more guests than she had expected.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 4, 2016
When later the dancers adjourned to the supper-room, Lord Cathcart tossed a billet across the table to André, and he in turn passed it to Mobray, who was squiring Janice.
From Janice Meredith by Ford, Paul Leicester
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.
