suitor

[ soo-ter ]

noun

1. a man who courts or woos a woman.
2. Law. a petitioner or plaintiff.
3. a person who sues or petitions for anything.
4. Informal. an individual who seeks to buy a business.

suitor

/ ˈsuːtə; ˈsjuːt- /

noun

1. a man who courts a woman; wooer
2. law a person who brings a suit in a court of law; plaintiff
3. rare.
   a person who makes a request or appeal for anything

Word History and Origins

Origin of suitor¹

1250–1300; Middle English s ( e ) utor, suitour < Anglo-French < Latin secūtor, equivalent to secū-, variant stem of sequī to follow + -tor -tor

Word History and Origins

Origin of suitor¹

C13: from Anglo-Norman suter, from Latin secūtor follower, from sequī to follow

Example Sentences

Lynne had no specific connection to the university, but of all the suitors, the staff at VT were the most committed to maintaining the Food Timeline’s mission.

From Eater

I knew there would be suitors out there, so I respectfully wanted to go my own way.

From Washington Post

With a market capitalization of $4 billion, a purchase wouldn’t necessarily empty the wallet of a tech-giant suitor.

From Fortune

In recent weeks, other rumored suitors included Google, Twitter and WalMart.

From Fortune

As Hulu is only available in the US, Disney still would have had to find another suitor to stream the film internationally.

From Quartz

I find both “admirer” and “suitor” to be presumptuous and one-sided.

From The Daily Beast

When the aforementioned woman told her male suitor that the texts were “so going on the internet,” he simply replied: “Enjoy.”

From The Daily Beast

David, the consummate suitor, naturally pulled out all the stops to woo his lady love.

From The Daily Beast

This new focus on dating smart came about after Match.com quizzed its users on what they wanted from a potential suitor.

From The Daily Beast

The Suitors By Cécile David-Weill Two sisters seek to hold onto the family summer home by attracting a rich suitor.

From The Daily Beast

Purt was gorgeous in a Canadian skating suitor so the tailor who sold it to him had called it.

From Project Gutenberg

Matters stood thus when a new suitor appeared in the person of Sir Lucien Pyne.

From Project Gutenberg

In the second part of the poem the lady is threatened by an unwelcome suitor, in the person of a hideous giant.

From Project Gutenberg

But let us suppose that no obstacle of family or connection interferes to check the approach of a suitor.

From Project Gutenberg

"I do not wonder at your defence of your erudite suitor," said Josephine, laying a disagreeable stress upon the adjective.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• admirer
• beau
• boyfriend
• lover
• paramour