archer
noun
a person who shoots with a bow and arrow; bowman.
Showing results for archer.
archer
1 American
[ahr-cher]
/ ˈɑr tʃər /
noun
archers
plural
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a person who shoots with a bow and arrow; bowman.
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Astronomy, Astrology. Archer, the constellation or sign of Sagittarius.
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an archerfish.
Archer
2
American
[ahr-cher]
/ ˈɑr tʃər /
noun
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William, 1856–1924, Scottish playwright, drama critic, and translator.
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a first name.
Archer
1
British
/ ˈɑːtʃə /
noun
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Frederick Scott. 1813–57, British inventor and sculptor. He developed (1851) the wet collodion photographic process, enabling multiple copies of pictures to be made
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Jeffrey ( Howard ), Baron Archer of Weston-Super-Mare. born 1940, British novelist and Conservative politician. He was an MP from 1969 until 1974. His novels include Kane and Abel (1979), Honour Among Thieves (1993), and The Fourth Estate (1996): from 2001 to 2003 he was imprisoned for perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice
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William. 1856–1924, Scottish critic and dramatist: made the first English translations of Ibsen
Archer
2
British
/ ˈɑːtʃə /
noun
archer
3
British
/ ˈɑːtʃə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of archer
First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French; Old French archier, from Late Latin arcuārius, equivalent to arcu-, stem of arcus “bow” ( see arc) + -ārius -ary
Explanation
If you enjoy shooting arrows at a target with a bow, you can call yourself an archer. Some archers compete in the Olympics. In ancient times, archers primarily used their bows and arrows to hunt for food or battle against enemies. There were also famous archers in mythology, including Artemis and Apollo in ancient Greece and Diana and Cupid in ancient Rome. Archer was an Anglo-French word first, from the Old French archier, "archer" or "bowmaker," from the Latin arcus, or "bow."
Vocabulary lists containing archer
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:
She’s also been an archer for more than 15 years.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 30, 2026
They featured complex politics and monstrous villains but also felt less oppressive: “Seraphina’s” eponymous hero is a musician rather than an archer, and music is at the center of the book.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2025
Feeling loose, feeling good, Stutzman began to wonder: Could he finish his storied career with something no armless archer had achieved — Paralympic gold?
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 7, 2024
The distances they have to shoot also differ based on the classification system, which then determines whether an archer can use assistive devices such as wheelchairs and release aids.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2024
The archer with the scar put his hand on Håkon’s shoulder.
From Anya and the Nightingale by Sofiya Pasternack
CHICAGO—When Maria Moctezuma learned that a project on busy Archer Avenue would replace on-street parking with bike lanes and reduce traffic from two lanes to one, she mobilized residents and grabbed a bullhorn to protest.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Robert Archer says haulage costs have been "a big hit", forcing him to increase the price of the organic flour he mills in North Yorkshire.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Jose Luis Maya, the owner of Deportes Maya, has sold jerseys, shoes and soccer balls on Archer for 24 years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 30, 2026
Archer shares surged on the news, rising more than 20% in midday trading Monday.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
She glanced at Archer, thinking back to the night they’d met: Hatchet’s men trekking through the jungle, the smell of the roast and the idle chatter of his crew.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
Henry’s archers carried longbows that cost little, drawn by men trained in every village across the kingdom.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
It was defended by a mix of infantry, archers, and cavalry drawn from across the Roman Empire.
From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2025
The 250 yards is a typical distance for castle-bashing, since the archers defending such strongholds struggled to hit targets much beyond that distance.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2025
Thousands wrote letters to suggest ways of capturing Goldie, including "get a gun that shoots a net" and "use archers to fire drugged meat into the air".
From BBC ● Mar. 2, 2025
But indeed there were too few now left there to do them great damage, though the light of the fires showed up many a mark for archers of such skill as Gondor once had boasted.
From "The Return of the King" by J.R.R. Tolkien
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.
