sire
Americannoun
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the male parent of a quadruped.
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a respectful term of address, now used only to a male sovereign.
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Archaic.
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a father or forefather.
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a person of importance or in a position of authority, as a lord.
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verb (used with object)
noun
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a male parent, esp of a horse or other domestic animal
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a respectful term of address, now used only in addressing a male monarch
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obsolete a man of high rank
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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siresimple
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siressimple
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have siredperfect
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has siredperfect
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am siringprogressive
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are siringprogressive
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is siringprogressive
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have been siringperfect progressive
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has been siringperfect progressive
Past
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siredsimple
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had siredperfect
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was siringprogressive
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were siringprogressive
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had been siringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of sire
1175–1225; Middle English < Old French (nominative singular) < Vulgar Latin *seior, for Latin senior senior (compare French monsieur originally, my lord, with sieur < *seiōr-, oblique stem of *seior )
Explanation
A sire is an animal's father. A newborn foal might look very much like his sire, with a white stripe on his brown face. Every once in a while, the word sire is used for a human — your dad is your sire — but it's much more common to find this word describing an animal's male parent. It's also a verb, meaning "to father," as in "My prize pig sires the cutest piglets." In the old days, you'd also use sire to directly address a nobleman or a king. It comes from the Latin word senior, "elder."
Vocabulary lists containing sire
The Princess Bride
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 3
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The Sea of Monsters
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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.
The sale also includes a 1960 Cherry Red Gibson ES-355, given to Marr by music mogul Seymour Stein as an incentive for The Smiths to sign to his label, Sire Records.
From BBC • Jun. 22, 2026
When Seymour Stein, then the president of Sire Records, first heard the Ramones, a band formed in 1974 in the Forest Hills section of Queens, N.Y., he nearly laughed.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 27, 2026
His most famous victory came in 2014, when he rode Sire De Grugy to victory at the Queen Mother Champion Chase.
From BBC • Feb. 23, 2024
In addition to Sovereign and Sire, the R&B star shares sons Usher Raymond V and Naviyd Ely with ex-wife and fashion designer Tameka Foster, to whom he was married from 2007 to 2009.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 12, 2024
Any message we receive from them is likely to begin "Dear Sire," and congratulate us on the handsomeness of our horses and our mastery of whale oil.
From "A Short History of Nearly Everything" by Bill Bryson
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.
