ambassador

noun

am·​bas·​sa·​dor am-ˈba-sə-dər 

əm-,

im-,

-ˌdȯr,

-ˈbas-dər

1

: an official envoy

especially : a diplomatic agent of the highest rank accredited to a foreign government or sovereign as the resident representative of his or her own government or sovereign or appointed for a special and often temporary diplomatic assignment

She's the American ambassador to Italy.

2

a

: an authorized representative or messenger

b

: an unofficial representative

traveling abroad as ambassadors of goodwill

ambassadorial

am-ˌba-sə-ˈdȯr-ē-əl 

əm-

im-

adjective

ambassadorship

am-ˈba-sə-dər-ˌship 

əm-

im-

-ˌdȯr-

-ˈbas-dər-

noun

Synonyms

• agent
• delegate
• emissary
• envoy
• legate
• minister
• representative

Examples of ambassador in a Sentence

Embassy officials met with the ambassador.

a beloved entertainer who has often been sent abroad by the president as his country's goodwill ambassador

Recent Examples on the Web

Piet Levy For its 10th headliner of 2024, the Wisconsin State Fair has booked Wisconsin's unofficial comedy ambassador. —Journal Sentinel, 9 Apr. 2024

Guests often also become ambassadors for the cause, Chailert says. —Travel + Leisure Editors, Travel + Leisure, 8 Apr. 2024

In addition, Hasselhoff-Fiore is CEO of the Hasselhoff Sandford Group, an international luxury real estate consulting group, a pilates instructor and an ambassador for World Animal Protection, a non-profit animal welfare organization. —Sarah Title, Peoplemag, 7 Apr. 2024

Omar Qazi, one of the original figures behind the Third Row Tesla podcast and an unofficial brand ambassador with access to Musk himself, urged everyone in the community this week to unite behind their CEO. —Christiaan Hetzner, Fortune, 5 Apr. 2024

Ryan Gosling, a longtime TAG ambassador, wore the next-gen version of the watch, the Carrera Plasma Diamant D’Avant Garde bearing a pink lab-diamond crown, to the Oscars in March. —Victoria Gomelsky, Robb Report, 5 Apr. 2024

On Monday, Iranian officials said Israeli forces struck a residence for the Iranian ambassador and a consular building in Syria. —NBC News, 4 Apr. 2024

Trump’s only active opponent was Nikki Haley, a respectable Republican former governor and United Nations ambassador. —George Skelton, The Mercury News, 3 Apr. 2024

Brand Ambassadorship Your staff are your ultimate brand ambassadors. —Rob Forrester, Forbes, 29 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English ambassatour, ambassiatour "diplomatic emissary, envoy, messenger," borrowed from Anglo-French & Medieval Latin; Anglo-French ambaxiatour, ambassatour (continental Middle French also embassator, ambassadeur), borrowed from Medieval Latin ambasciātor, ambassātor, from ambiasciāre "to communicate, send a message, send an envoy" (derivative of Late Latin ambascia, ambassia "mission, errand, task, journey") + Latin -tor, agent suffix — more at embassy

Note: The current form of the word with -d-, which becomes common in early Modern English, is dependent on Middle French (and French) ambassadeur, borrowed from Italian ambasciatore, probably borrowed from Old Occitan ambayssador. Regarding the variation between initial am- and em-, see the note at embassy. As the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, remarks, the form embassador was frequent in early Modern English, up to ca. 1700, and sporadic thereafter; the prevalence of the am- form is probably due at least in part to the influence of French ambassadeur. Though ambassador was apparently always more common in American English, Noah Webster preferred embassador, as he notes at the entry for ambassador in An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828): "This is the more common orthography; but good authors write also embassador; and as the orthography of embassy is established, it would be better to write embassador."

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing ambassador

• goodwill ambassador
• ambassador-at-large

Kids Definition

ambassador

noun

am·​bas·​sa·​dor am-ˈbas-əd-ər 

əm-,

-ˈbas-ə-dȯ(ə)r

1

: a person sent as the chief representative of his or her own government in another country

2

: an official representative or messenger

ambassadorial

(ˌ)am-ˌbas-ə-ˈdōr-ē-əl 

-ˌdȯr-

əm-

adjective

ambassadorship

am-ˈbas-əd-ər-ˌship 

əm-

noun