American History. a representative in the popular branch of the colonial legislature of Virginia or Maryland.
(formerly) a representative of a borough in the British Parliament.
Rare. an inhabitant of an English borough.
Anthony, 1917–93, English novelist and critic.
(Frank) Gelett 1866–1951, U.S. illustrator and humorist.
Thornton Waldo, 1874–1965, U.S. author, especially of children's books.
a male given name.
a citizen or freeman of a borough
any inhabitant of a borough
English history a Member of Parliament from a borough, corporate town, or university
a member of the colonial assembly of Maryland or Virginia
Anthony , real name John Burgess Wilson . 1917–93, English novelist and critic: his novels include A Clockwork Orange (1962), Tremor of Intent (1966), Earthly Powers (1980), and Any Old Iron (1989)
Guy . 1911–63, British spy, who fled to the Soviet Union (with Donald Maclean) in 1951
1175–1225; Middle English burgeis < Anglo-French, Old French, equivalent to burg city (< Germanic ) + -eis < Latin -ēnsis -ensis; cf. -ese
Historically, a burgess was an important citizen. A free, male inhabitant of a medieval English borough was known as a burgess. A burgess was originally a fairly ordinary citizen, and the word shares a root with the French bourgeois, "member of the middle class." In England, it came to mean an elected official, or someone who represents a borough in the House of Commons. The American Colonies of Virginia and Maryland adopted a similar use of burgess, establishing a House of Burgess where elected representatives governed alongside a British-appointed governor.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Bagpipes welcomed the Eisenhowers to Maybole, where the General was made a freeman and burgess.
From Time Magazine Archive
Since the conquerors felt they must stick together, it was possible for an ambitious young Norman lad, though only the son of a Cheapside burgess, to get a helping hand from Norman nobles.
From Time Magazine Archive
He was given lodging in the house of a burgess full discreet and courteous, who gave up to his guest his own fair tapestried chamber.
From Tales from the Old French by Various
There he sought a shop and dwelling, and paying his service, made himself vassal and burgess of the King.
From Aucassin & Nicolette And Other Mediaeval Romances and Legends by Mason, Eugene
A gentleman, who had lurked till now close to one of the enormous pillars of the choir, where he was shrouded in the shadow, hastened to take the place left vacant by the worthy burgess.
From The Works of Honor? de Balzac About Catherine de' Medici, Seraphita and Other Stories by Balzac, Honor? de
"They will be more intense and they will last longer, and they will impact more geographical areas," Burgess told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
The world, Burgess said, needs to get to net-zero emissions from the burning of fossil fuels as soon as possible.
From Barron's ● Jul. 9, 2026
That sequence started with a free kick following a foul by Burgess.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 19, 2026
Green MSP Ariane Burgess warned evidence from previous help-to-buy schemes suggested that they made properties "less not more affordable", and that they benefited better-off buyers.
From BBC ● May 27, 2026
The Burgess sisters and Mr. Barris pore over the sketches, reading each note as Chandresh continues.
From "The Night Circus" by Erin Morgenstern
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.
