1
a
archaic
: a traveler on foot : pedestrian
b
2
a
: a servant in livery formerly attending a rider or required to run in front of his master's carriage
b
: a servant who serves at table, tends the door, and runs errands
Examples of footman in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Denker tries to take advantage of the new footman but Thomas steps in to get revenge.
—
Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez, Town & Country, 17 May 2022
The footman died in the trenches during World War I, and Lizzie never remarried.
—Penelope Green, New York Times, 6 May 2023
When the mortified footman offered his resignation, the queen refused, assuming that Andrew had deserved it.
—Simon Usborne, Town & Country, 13 Mar. 2022
And then a footman would promptly shut the window.
—Town & Country, 10 Jan. 2023
Whether that's bribing a footman or something.
—ELLE, 26 Mar. 2022
The departure of Fawcett — who rose from being a footman to Queen Elizabeth to Charles's valet and ultimately to running the charity — comes two months after a series of newspaper articles about how official honors and British citizenship were allegedly sought on behalf of a Saudi businessman.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE.com, 12 Nov. 2021
Last week, a black sign was pinned to the Buckingham Palace gates by a footman, and overnight thousands gathered there to lay flowers, letters, and candles, and pay their final respects to the longest-running royal ruler of modern times.
—Becky Lucas, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Sep. 2022
The couple's onetime footman, Sidney Johnson, would later tell the New York Times about that night.
—Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, 13 Nov. 2022
See More
Tom Fitzgerald and Lorenzo Marquez, Town & Country, 17 May 2022
The footman died in the trenches during World War I, and Lizzie never remarried.
—Penelope Green, New York Times, 6 May 2023
When the mortified footman offered his resignation, the queen refused, assuming that Andrew had deserved it.
—Simon Usborne, Town & Country, 13 Mar. 2022
And then a footman would promptly shut the window.
—Town & Country, 10 Jan. 2023
Whether that's bribing a footman or something.
—ELLE, 26 Mar. 2022
The departure of Fawcett — who rose from being a footman to Queen Elizabeth to Charles's valet and ultimately to running the charity — comes two months after a series of newspaper articles about how official honors and British citizenship were allegedly sought on behalf of a Saudi businessman.
—Simon Perry, PEOPLE.com, 12 Nov. 2021
Last week, a black sign was pinned to the Buckingham Palace gates by a footman, and overnight thousands gathered there to lay flowers, letters, and candles, and pay their final respects to the longest-running royal ruler of modern times.
—Becky Lucas, Condé Nast Traveler, 13 Sep. 2022
The couple's onetime footman, Sidney Johnson, would later tell the New York Times about that night.
—Chloe Foussianes, Town & Country, 13 Nov. 2022
See More
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'footman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1b
Time Traveler
The first known use of footman was
in the 14th century
Articles Related to footman
Dictionary Entries Near footman
Cite this Entry
“Footman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/footman. Accessed 2 Oct. 2023.
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Kids Definition
footman
noun
foot·man
-mən 
1
: an infantry soldier
2
: a male servant who lets in visitors and waits on the table
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