usher
noun
a person who escorts people to seats in a theater, church, etc.
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usher
1 American
[uhsh-er]
/ ˈʌʃ ər /
noun
-
ushers
plural
-
a person who escorts people to seats in a theater, church, etc.
-
a person acting as an official doorkeeper, as in a courtroom or legislative chamber.
-
a male attendant of a bridegroom at a wedding.
-
an officer whose business it is to introduce strangers or to walk before a person of rank.
-
British Archaic. a subordinate teacher or an assistant in a school.
verb (used with object)
-
ushers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ushered,
past participle, past
-
ushering
present participle
-
to act as an usher to; lead, introduce, or conduct.
She ushered them to their seats.
-
to attend or bring at the coming or beginning; precede or herald (usually followed byin ).
to usher in the new theater season.
verb (used without object)
-
ushers,
present (3rd person singular)
-
ushered,
past participle, past
-
ushering
present participle
Usher
2
American
[uhsh-er]
/ ˈʌʃ ər /
noun
usher
1
British
/ ˈʌʃə /
noun
-
an official who shows people to their seats, as in a church or theatre
-
a person who acts as doorkeeper, esp in a court of law
-
(in England) a minor official charged with maintaining order in a court of law
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an officer responsible for preceding persons of rank in a procession or introducing strangers at formal functions
-
obsolete a teacher
verb
-
to conduct or escort, esp in a courteous or obsequious way
-
(usually foll by in) to be a precursor or herald (of)
Usher
2
British
/ ˈʌʃə /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
ushersimple
-
usherssimple
-
have usheredperfect
-
has usheredperfect
-
am usheringprogressive
-
are usheringprogressive
-
is usheringprogressive
-
have been usheringperfect progressive
-
has been usheringperfect progressive
Past
-
usheredsimple
-
had usheredperfect
-
was usheringprogressive
-
were usheringprogressive
-
had been usheringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of usher
1350–1400; Middle English uscher doorkeeper < Anglo-French usser, Old French ( h ) uissier doorman, officer of justice < Vulgar Latin *ustiārius, equivalent to Latin ōsti ( um ) door + -ārius -ary; see -er 2
Explanation
That guy who guided you to your seat? He's called an usher. You most often see ushers at movie theaters and weddings. An usher is someone with the job of helping people find their seats. At the movies, ushers take your tickets and tell you where to go. At some theaters and sports venues, the ushers might actually take you to your seat — they usher you there. If you're an usher in a wedding party, it's your job to walk guests down the aisle and to their seats. The doorkeeper at a courtroom or legislative chamber is called an usher, too.
Vocabulary lists containing usher
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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.
See Examples For:
With this new test, SpaceX hopes to usher in an "exciting new phase" of development that will include, among other things, tests of refueling the rocket in orbit.
From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026
But investors are starting to worry that increasing adoption of AI agents could usher in a scenario similar to what Citrini Research envisioned in a viral report published earlier this year.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 23, 2026
The show famously had an early ally in Lucille Ball, who, through her Desilu Productions, helped usher “Star Trek” through two pilots before NBC picked it up.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
Series eight contestant Paris Baby feels the new season will usher in a "drag renaissance"
From BBC ● Sep. 3, 2026
It was Claire Faulkner, the usher on night duty.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Usher was not on stage when either honor was presented.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 17, 2026
The tour comes after a rare period of rest and relaxation for Usher, who recently revealed to Architectural Digest that he had undergone surgery on his knee earlier this year.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Brown is performing with Usher on their joint North American stadium tour.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 1, 2026
Usher is one of more than 1,500 veterans who have applied for financial reparations from the Ministry of Defence as part of a scheme launched in 2024 to make amends for their suffering.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
He was an Usher of wandering souls, a servant to the all-knowing Afterlife, and although he was not in Deadwood, he did carry some authority, didn’t he?
From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman
Every day, diligent ushers stood like bouncers at the court's heavy, soundproof doors.
From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026
Ships float off the coast throughout the year, but autumn ushers in one of the biggest sailing regattas on the Mediterranean.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
Mextly Couzin’s lighting ushers in old-fashioned Broadway pizzazz when needed.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
The tiny white and pink petals of cherry flowers, known as sakura, herald the start of spring in Japan, and full bloom ushers in a brief period of boisterous outdoor parties held by residents.
From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026
Helmuth ushers them outside, saying, "Let's get some fresh air. I'll explain everything."
From "The Boy Who Dared" by Susan Campbell Bartoletti
The condemned woman was "loudly snoring, clearly very alive" as the journalists were ushered out of the area, Chandler told CBS.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
Using their invisible arms, they ushered the girl to shelves lined with art, history and photography books, teaching Rosales how to appreciate the eerie, the tragic, the mysterious, the romantic, the ephemeral and the hard-to-find.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
I eventually left the van and police ushered me into a nearby building, where I was told moments later that it wasn’t safe in there either, and that I had to evacuate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 8, 2026
After the second World War, Enver Hoxha ushered in a severely isolated and repressive Communist regime.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
They were ushered into the parlor and again served tea.
From "A Girl Named Disaster" by Nancy Farmer
She’s now ushering in the next generation of Trekkies, including her children and a 5-year-old niece, who she says became enthralled with “Strange New Worlds.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
He’s uniquely responsible for ushering in an age of barbarism and will spend the rest of his life making amends in the fallen world he helped create.
From Salon ● Jul. 21, 2026
Now he has been ejected from power by his own party and instead of ushering in a "decade of national renewal," as he had promised, he is contemplating a return to the back benches.
From BBC ● Jun. 22, 2026
At the same time, SpaceX in 2015 successfully landed the first stage of its Falcon 9 rocket, ushering in the age of partially reusable rockets.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
Already Rhonda was ushering the children toward the secret exit.
From "The Mysterious Benedict Society" by Trenton Lee Stewart
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.
