sire

noun

\ˈsī(-ə)r

Definition of sire

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : father

b archaic : male ancestor : forefather

c : author, originator

2a archaic : a man of rank or authority especially : lord —used formerly as a form of address and as a title

b obsolete : an elderly man : senior

3 : the male parent of an animal and especially of a domestic animal

sire

verb

sired; siring

Definition of sire (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : beget —used especially of male domestic animals

2 : to bring into being : originate

Synonyms Example Sentences Learn More about sire

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Examples of sire in a Sentence

Noun

his sire had been a renowned Wall Street lawyer the revered sire of the impressionist movement in art

Verb

The horse sired several champion racers. the champion racehorse went on to sire a long line of winners

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Lucky Pulpit was the sire of California Chrome and died at age 17. — Eric Sondheimer, latimes.com, "Racing! New stallions try to give a boost in California," 2 July 2018 Tommy Town also has one of the hottest sires in Grazen, one of my favorites. — Eric Sondheimer, latimes.com, "Racing! New stallions try to give a boost in California," 2 July 2018 His father, the late Scat Daddy, was a terrific sire. — Childs Walker, baltimoresun.com, "Preakness 2018 preview: Justify's rapid ascent puts race favorite in same company as American Pharoah," 17 May 2018 Jason Frakes, Louisville Courier Journal Kentucky Derby winner Justifyis a son of Scat Daddy, a sire who died in late 2015, and the Ghostzapper mare Stage Magic. — Paul Rolfes, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky Derby winner Justify comes from a line of champions," 5 May 2018 Both are sons of the sire Scat Daddy, who was injured in the 2007 Derby. — Debbie Arrington, sacbee, "‘Bob Baffert has the horse to beat.’ Can Justify overcome a 136-year-old Derby curse? | The Sacramento Bee," 4 May 2018 On the other side of the deal was Coolmore, the breeding farm that also oversees American Pharoah’s sire activities. — New York Times, "What’s Next for Justify? Maybe More Races, or Maybe Just the Breeding Shed," 12 June 2018 The sire, whose sperm was frozen in 2011, was himself a calf born of the SCBI’s early artificial insemination pilot programs in the 1990s. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, "New Artificial Insemination Technique Successfully Breeds Critically Endangered Scimitar-Horned Oryx," 10 July 2018 Hoppert: The sire of this third-place Preakness finisher is Curlin, who had stamina and speed, and his dam is Temptress, by Tapit. — Joe Drape, New York Times, "Belmont Stakes 2018: Latest Odds, Picks and Contenders," 8 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Completing the stakes program is the $100,000 Bertrando Stakes for 3-year-olds and up bred or sired in California. — John Cherwa, latimes.com, "Racing! It’s post time at Los Alamitos," 28 June 2018 In a tsunami of bad news for the President just on Thursday, it was reported that the National Enquirer's parent company had paid off a doorman at one of his properties to keep quiet a rumor that the President had sired an illegitimate child. — Stephen Collinson, CNN, "Comey paints unsparing portrait of Trump in devastating tell-all book," 13 Apr. 2018 By killing cubs that aren’t his, the male forces the female back into estrus, allowing him to mate and sire cubs of his own. — Doug Main, National Geographic, "Why These Leopard Sisters Are Mating With the Same Male," 27 June 2018 In this strange world, males are fatherless and sire no sons. — Katherine J. Wu, Smithsonian, "Five Real Life Wasp Superpowers Not in Ant-Man and the Wasp," 22 Mar. 2018 Faversham, the full brother to former Horse of the Year California Chrome (sired by Lucky Pulpit out of the mare Love the Chase), was entered by trainer Art Sherman, who also trained Chrome. — Jeff Nahill, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Horsemen stuff entry box for opening day at Del Mar," 14 July 2018 Over the course of his career selling semen to sire more cows, Astronaut earned each of his investors more than $1.3 million. — John Kelly, Washington Post, "Remembering a time when Montgomery County was dairy — very dairy, indeed," 10 July 2018 Hofburg, who finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby, is trained by Hall of Famer Bill Mott and was sired by Tapit, who fathered the winners of three of the last four Belmonts. — Nora Princiotti, BostonGlobe.com, "Bob Baffert is hoping for a good break for Justify in the Belmont Stakes," 6 June 2018 Hofburg finished seventh in the Kentucky Derby after a rough trip but is a son of Tapit, who sired three of the last four Belmont winners. — Dan Wolken, USA TODAY, "Justify gets the rail for Belmont Stakes, Bob Baffert's least favorite spot," 5 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'sire.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.