petitioner

noun

pe·​ti·​tion·​er pə-ˈti-sh(ə-)nər 

plural petitioners

: one who makes, submits, or signs a petition

The lost children had not been found. Public prayers had been offered up for them, and many and many a private prayer that had the petitioner's whole heart in it; but still no good news came from the cave.

—Mark Twain

The high court held that when a petition charges an official with violating the law, the petitioners must at least have knowledge of facts which indicate an intent to commit an unlawful act.

—The National Law Journal

The petitioner contended that the taking of the blood sample and the admission of the test results violated his fifth amendment privilege against self-incrimination …

—Raymond P. Ward

… the draft of the proposed petition was read at length: and the petition said, as all petitions DO say, that the petitioners were very humble, and the petitioned very honourable, and the object very virtuous; therefore (said the petition) the bill ought to be passed into a law at once …

—Charles Dickens

Included in Wednesday's court filing was a petition signed by more than 500 area residents. The petitioners ask that Johnson "be shown mercy and not subjected to a jail term" because he has lost so much due to the conviction.

—Michael Smith

Synonyms of petitioner

• solicitor
• pleader
• requester
• beggar
• suppliant

Examples of petitioner in a Sentence

the lottery winner was beset by a horde of petitioners, all of whom thought that they were most deserving of his charity

Recent Examples on the Web

The Union-Tribune reviewed dozens of San Diego federal judges’ opinions on these cases and found that the district court has, the vast majority of the time, either ordered ICE detention centers to immediately release the petitioners or ordered immigration courts to give them a bond hearing. —Kristen Taketa, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2026

By sanctioning an unlawful deal, the government has created a legal impediment to petitioners' financial recovery. —Scott MacFarlane, CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026

Last year, about one-third of petitioners were successful. —Bloomberg, Oc Register, 5 Mar. 2026

Senate Bill 223 would give petitioners more time to gather fewer signatures to refer school district opt-outs to a vote. —Morgan Matzen, Sioux Falls Argus Leader, 26 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for petitioner

• commissioner
• conditioner
• parishioner
• positioner
• practitioner
• missioner