squire

[ skwahyuhr ]
See synonyms for squire on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. (in England) a country gentleman, especially the chief landed proprietor in a district.

  2. (in the Middle Ages) a young man of noble birth who as an aspirant to knighthood served a knight.

  1. a personal attendant, as of a person of rank.

  2. a man who accompanies or escorts a woman.

  3. a title applied to a justice of the peace, local judge, or other local dignitary of a rural district or small town.

verb (used with object),squired, squir·ing.
  1. to attend as, or in the manner of, a squire.

  2. to escort (a woman), as to a dance or social gathering.

Origin of squire

1
1250–1300; Middle English squier; aphetic variant of esquire

Other words from squire

  • squireless, adjective
  • squirelike, adjective
  • un·squired, adjective

Words Nearby squire

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use squire in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for squire

squire

/ (skwaɪə) /


noun
  1. a country gentleman in England, esp the main landowner in a rural community

  2. feudal history a young man of noble birth, who attended upon a knight

  1. rare a man who courts or escorts a woman

  2. informal, mainly British a term of address used by one man to another, esp, unless ironic, to a member of a higher social class

  3. Australian an immature snapper: See snapper (def. 2)

verb
  1. (tr) (of a man) to escort (a woman)

Origin of squire

1
C13: from Old French esquier; see esquire

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012