usher

¹

[uhsh-er]

noun

1. a person who escorts people to seats in a theater, church, etc.

2. a person acting as an official doorkeeper, as in a courtroom or legislative chamber.

3. a male attendant of a bridegroom at a wedding.

4. an officer whose business it is to introduce strangers or to walk before a person of rank.

5. British Archaic.,  a subordinate teacher or an assistant in a school.

verb (used with object)

1. to act as an usher to; lead, introduce, or conduct.

   She ushered them to their seats.

2. to attend or bring at the coming or beginning; precede or herald (usually followed byin ).

   to usher in the new theater season.

verb (used without object)

1. to act as an usher.

   He ushered at the banquet.

Usher

²

[uhsh-er]

noun

1. James. Ussher, James.

usher

¹

/ ˈʌʃə /

noun

1. an official who shows people to their seats, as in a church or theatre

2. a person who acts as doorkeeper, esp in a court of law

3. (in England) a minor official charged with maintaining order in a court of law

4. an officer responsible for preceding persons of rank in a procession or introducing strangers at formal functions

5. obsolete,  a teacher

verb

1. to conduct or escort, esp in a courteous or obsequious way

2. (usually foll by in) to be a precursor or herald (of)

Usher

²

/ ˈʌʃə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of (James) Ussher

Other Word Forms

• ushership noun
• underusher noun
• unushered adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of usher¹

1350–1400; Middle English uscher doorkeeper < Anglo-French usser, Old French ( h ) uissier doorman, officer of justice < Vulgar Latin *ustiārius, equivalent to Latin ōsti ( um ) door + -ārius -ary; -er ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of usher¹

C14: from Old French huissier doorkeeper, from Vulgar Latin ustiārius (unattested), from Latin ostium door

Example Sentences

Badinter made ending the death penalty an immediate priority after becoming justice minister in June 1981, ushering a bill through parliament just months later.

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The ballet mistress Madame Giry, and others, usher the audience groups from room to room, as the narrative follows the spine of the original, although there is considerably less dialogue.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

As leader of track and field governing body World Athletics, he ushered in rules barring any athlete who had gone through male puberty from female competition categories.

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Baseball’s analytics revolution has ushered in an age of cost-benefit analyses, sustainability studies and five-year plans, to the point where Dombrowski prioritizing the present over the future feels like a market inefficiency.

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The information hunt has become increasingly sophisticated, ushered along by an influx of Ph.D. economists and data scientists to the private sector.

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Related Words

• escort 
• initiate 
• precede 
• steer