Emerson

American

[em-er-suhn] / ˈɛm ər sən /

noun

Ralph Waldo, 1803–82, U.S. essayist and poet.

Emerson British

/ ˈɛməsən /

noun

Ralph Waldo. (rælf ˈwɔːldəʊ). 1803–82, US poet, essayist, and transcendentalist

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

Emersonian adjective
anti-Emersonian adjective
pro-Emersonian adjective

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.

Those trends are fueling growth for equipment makers like Hubbell, Emerson Electric, Eaton, and Amtech Systems.

From Barron's • Apr. 5, 2026

Ralph Waldo Emerson declared that Brown would “make the gallows as glorious as the cross.”

From Slate • Apr. 2, 2026

Emerson often tailors his tone to evoke what it feels like to read a particular writer who has such qualities.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 24, 2026

After bidding farewell to Eugenio Suárez and Jorge Polanco, the Mariners are betting on young infielders Cole Young and Colt Emerson.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 24, 2026

A sculpture of a guy’s head sits right in the middle of the grass, and when Isabella and I go over to look, I see that of course it is Ralph Waldo Emerson.

From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023