a suffix used in forming nouns designating persons from the object of their occupation or labor (hatter; tiler; tinner; moonshiner ), or from their place of origin or abode (Icelander; southerner; villager ), or designating either persons or things from some special characteristic or circumstance (six-footer; three-master; teetotaler; fiver; tenner ).
a suffix serving as the regular English formative of agent nouns, being attached to verbs of any origin (bearer; creeper; employer; harvester; teacher; theorizer ).
a person or thing that performs a specified action
reader
decanter
lighter
a person engaged in a profession, occupation, etc
writer
baker
bootlegger
a native or inhabitant of
islander
Londoner
villager
a person or thing having a certain characteristic
newcomer
double-decker
fiver
(in the US) Emergency Room (in hospitals)
Elizabeth Regina
Eduardus Rex
Middle English -er(e), a coalescence of Old English -ere agentive suffix (cognate with Old High German -āri, Gothic -areis, from unattested Germanic -arjaz, from unattested Slavic -arĭ, from Latin -ārius ) and Old English -ware suffix forming nouns of ethnic or residential origin (e.g., Rōmware “Romans”), cognate with Old High German -āri, from unattested Germanic -warioz “people”; see origin at -ary
Middle English < Anglo-French -er, equivalent to Old French -er, -ier < Latin -ārius, -ārium. Cf. -ary, -eer, -ier 2
< French, originally infinitive suffix -er, -re
Middle English -er ( e ), -re, Old English -ra, -re; cognate with German -er
Middle English -er ( e ), -re, Old English -or; cognate with Old High German -or, German -er
Middle English; Old English -r-; cognate with German - ( e ) r-
Probably modeled on nonagentive uses of -er 1; said to have first become current in University College, Oxford, 1875–80
From New Latin Edwardus Rex
From New Latin Elizabeth Regina
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Dodgers and Phillies each represent the National League, but can you imagine what the Phillies fans might have to say about four — or more — Dodgers introduced in the, er, home team lineup?
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
A friendly game against, er, whoever, or a momentous day for the Scottish national team and the chosen ones bound for the States - same difference.
From BBC ● May 19, 2026
The former Oracle employee’s comedy—which can poke fun at his previous career in sales, er, the “revenue side of strategic pipeline development”—has struck a chord and is earning him millions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026
We should just accept that we’re better off living in a van – er, cabin by the river.
From Salon ● Mar. 23, 2026
“That would be because they — er — weren’t dementors,” said Professor Lupin.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
"The specific name lii honors Li Er, the ancient Chinese philosopher better known as Laozi," said the research team, led by Bo Cai.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 22, 2026
But the current Draco obsession stems from the transliteration of his surname, "Ma Er Fu", which contains the Chinese characters for "horse" and "good fortune" -- an auspicious omen for the year ahead.
From Barron's ● Feb. 5, 2026
God we hope not, we don’t want to work those nights … Er, let’s hope so, for democracy!
From Slate ● Apr. 13, 2024
Er, try telling that to some supporters as perspective went out the window and they picked apart where it all went wrong.
From BBC ● Mar. 27, 2024
“Look, I’ll deal with Maximilian. Er, Max,” Nurse Beverly told the chauffeur.
From "The School for Whatnots" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
Anesthesiologists and ER doctors are among the winners under the setup created by a 2020 law to protect patients from surprise medical bills.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
He has also had a prolific television career, with recurring roles in standards including "Hill Street Blues" and "ER."
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
ER visits in the U.S. rise during heat emergencies, according to a 2021 study published in a British medical journal that found those visits increase by about 8% during days with extreme heat.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 30, 2026
As summer approaches, police warn that modified e-bikes are putting kids in the ER.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 26, 2026
Or by sticking to my one-person strike until—who knows?—she eventually relented and let us drive her to the nearest ER or at least sat down?
From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich
Among wealthy university students in the 1880s and 1890s, there was a habit of shortening words and adding "-er" to the end, creating a kind of slang.
From BBC ● Jun. 13, 2026
Her th sounds were more like d sounds, pronouncing the word "those" like "doze," and if a word ended in -er, like "number," she said, "num-bah."
From Salon ● Sep. 25, 2022
The girl is embarrassed that she doesn’t understand, and replies, “I -er, oh, I don’t know, suh. I didn’t know you-er anybody could ride uh fish.”
From Seattle Times ● Feb. 27, 2020
The Shubert closed in 1976 and when it reopened in 1983, the board chair insisted on changing it to -er.
From Washington Post ● Oct. 15, 2019
Soccer was supposed to be an easy one, but I forgot about the -er not -re at the end.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
But the betting here is that a viewer will be preoccupied by thinking about the multitude of head injuries someone like Robby would encounter in the E.R., and why he doesn’t wear a helmet himself.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 6, 2026
“Nobody ever wins a fight,” he solemnly tells the hot E.R. doctor who patches him up, echoing the words of Swayze’s sunrise tai chi practitioner.
From Salon ● Mar. 24, 2024
Presley, who’s vowed to work to expand Medicaid, responded from a shuttered E.R.:
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2023
Weicker was born in Paris in 1931, to Lowell P. Weicker Sr. — whose family founded the pharmaceutical giant E.R.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
At Mercy, I sit in the waiting room of the E.R. and it doesn't take much to realize that this place doesn't have double locks on the doors or surveillance cameras everywhere like at Jamison.
From "Counting by 7s" by Holly Goldberg Sloan
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.
