escort
Americannoun
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escorts
plural
-
a group of persons, or a single person, accompanying another or others for protection, guidance, or courtesy.
An escort of sailors accompanied the queen.
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an armed guard, as a body of soldiers or ships.
The president traveled with a large escort of motorcycle police.
-
a man or boy who accompanies a woman or girl in public, as to a social event.
-
a person, especially a woman female escort, but sometimes a man male escort, who is paid to go on a date with a client, and usually to engage in sex acts for money.
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protection, safeguard, or guidance on a journey.
to travel without escort.
- Synonyms:
- convoy
verb (used with object)
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escorts,
present (3rd person singular)
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escorted,
past participle, past
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escorting
present participle
noun
-
one or more persons, soldiers, vehicles, etc, accompanying another or others for protection, guidance, restraint, or as a mark of honour
-
a man or youth who accompanies a woman or girl
he was her escort for the evening
-
-
a person, esp a young woman, who may be hired to accompany another for entertainment, etc
-
( as modifier )
an escort agency
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verb
Synonym Usage
See accompany.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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escortsimple
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escortssimple
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have escortedperfect
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has escortedperfect
-
am escortingprogressive
-
are escortingprogressive
-
is escortingprogressive
-
have been escortingperfect progressive
-
has been escortingperfect progressive
Past
-
escortedsimple
-
had escortedperfect
-
was escortingprogressive
-
were escortingprogressive
-
had been escortingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of escort
First recorded in 1570–80; from French, from Italian scorta, derivative of scorgere “to conduct, guide,” from Vulgar Latin excorrigere (unrecorded); see ex- 1, correct
Explanation
When you go somewhere, whether it's for fun or business, it's always nice to have an escort — someone to go along with you. Some escorts are there to protect you, some just to share a good time. The word escort can be a noun or a verb — "your escort escorts you." This word is derived from the Latin excorrigere, "to set out," and moved through the Italian scorgere, meaning "to guide." In the 1570s it took on a military tone as escorte, used to describe armed protectors for travelers. In the 19th century it came to mean "accompanying a person on social occasions," although we still refer to military escorts today.
Vocabulary lists containing escort
"To Kill a Mockingbird" by Harper Lee, Chapters 26–31
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Beowulf: A New Telling
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Tears of a Tiger
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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:
Police escort a worker out of Have a Nice Stay bookstore, whose t-shirt reads 'I am a bookshop employee'
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Each carrier has about 5,000 crew members; the escort ships carry a combined total of another 1,000.
From Slate ● Aug. 19, 2026
Volunteers from Harani’s organization now escort nuns on a daily basis to and from a monastery on Mount Zion to their residence in the Old City.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 2, 2026
In the dead of night on Friday, a large yellow truck led by a police escort made its way through the empty streets of London.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
Maybe her minder automat would escort her back and she'd earn detention again and more demerits?
From "The Marvellers" by Dhonielle Clayton
SoFi Stadium aced the physical infrastructure with working elevators, wheelchair escorts and accessible seating with clear sightlines on every level.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 16, 2026
And then “San Marcos el Fin” gently escorts the listener out of this particular room.
From Salon ● Jul. 14, 2026
Many of the ships have sailed with escorts from the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
That refers to a “first group” of tankers or ship operators willing to cross the strait, likely with naval coordination and escorts.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 18, 2026
On the benches below, Winterfell men mixed with smallfolk from the winter town, friends from the nearer holdfasts, and the escorts of their lordly guests.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
They were eventually escorted back to their bus.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
The couple, who have been married for 59 years, returned to their house for the first time on Sunday, escorted by the fire service.
From BBC ● Aug. 19, 2026
Parents confirmed that multiple coaches were escorted off campus Thursday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026
Others were rounded up by Spanish forces and escorted to the border.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
Ten minutes later the guard released him from the room and escorted him as far as the main gate.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
But a Cal Fire firefighter stepped in on Tuesday, escorting a staff member to the property so she could release the critically endangered birds back into the wild.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Nagraj, 46, managed the paid caregivers working at his in-laws’ house while coordinating doctors’ appointments for his father-in-law, and escorting him to them.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 23, 2026
Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on June 12 that the U.S. military was escorting ships carrying about 7 million barrels a day out of the Persian Gulf.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 21, 2026
Local villagers whom he regularly employs to assist him in escorting groups up Dukono also did not tell him anything about the prohibition, he added.
From BBC ● May 11, 2026
Dad insisted on escorting Mom into the bank.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
