ritter
1 Americannoun
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a knight.
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a member of the lowest order of nobility in Germany or Austria.
noun
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Joseph Elmer, 1891–1967, U.S. cardinal.
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Woodward Maurice Tex, 1907–74, U.S. country-and-western singer, composer, and film actor.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of ritter
1815–25; < German; Middle High German riter rider
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:
The old man hears, and with a sigh wishes back the day when gentlemen shouted "Heyā, ritter, wis et fro!" in the tourneys, instead of these new cries of riotry and pillage.
From Studies in Medi?val Life and Literature by McLaughlin, Edward Tompkins
He says, "German ritter, a rider, i.e. a trooper," and quotes from Halliwell, "rutter, a rider, a trooper, from the German; a name given to mercenary soldiers engaged from Brabant, etc."
From The Romance of Names by Weekley, Ernest
Dō brāhte man die vrouwen dā si in ligen vant. si huop sīn schœne houbet mit ir vil wīȥen hant; dō kuste s’ alsō tōten den edelen ritter guot.
From A Middle High German Primer Third Edition by Wright, Joseph
Ritter noted in an email that a decline over the first six months after an IPO is a mildly bearish indicator of the stock’s likely performance over the next six months.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 16, 2026
According to data by University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter, more than 70% of IPOs from 1974 to 2021 have negative three-year returns from their offer prices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 15, 2026
Ritter said that so far insurers have paid $23.7 billion in claims.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
“The word we use is ‘postponed,’ because the money doesn’t disappear,” said Stuart Ritter, retirement-insights director at T. Rowe Price.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 15, 2026
On the night of the Ritter execution, Myers was in full crisis, sobbing in his cell.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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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.