sire

noun \ ˈsī(-ə)r \

|Updated on: 16 Jun 2018

Examples: sire in a Sentence

1 a : father

b archaic : male ancestor : forefather

c : author, originator

2 a 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

See sire defined for English-language learners

See sire defined for kids

Examples of sire in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of sire from the Web

As sons of top sire Scat Daddy, Mendelssohn will compete against his half-brother Justify.

— charlotte carroll, SI.com, "Get to Know Mendelssohn: The Horse Favored to Win the 2018 Kentucky Derby," 5 May 2018
My Boy Jack’s male parent (known as a sire) is a horse named Creative Cause.

— staff report, courant.com, "Everything You Need To Know About My Boy Jack Before Placing A Kentucky Derby Bet," 4 May 2018
Right, so there’s been a lot of talk about his sire not being a class distance horse.

— katia porzecanski, Bloomberg.com, "Is Justify Worthy of Hype? Kentucky Derby Q&A With Papadopoulos," 4 May 2018
His sire is Scat Daddy, known for producing grass runners, but his dame, Leslie’s Lady, provides the genes that say Mendelssohn will run well on dirt.

— joe sullivan, BostonGlobe.com, "Is Justify a Triple Crown threat? Hold your horses," 3 May 2018
The farm stands 22 sires and has about 100 horses in training at any one time.

— childs walker, baltimoresun.com, "WinStar's Elliott Walden has reasons to smile at the Kentucky Derby this week," 2 May 2018
Adopting an approach similar to its sire -- which regularly introduces a plot, then leaves it dormant for a week or more to pursue another -- the series then shifts to surviving members of the core cast, featuring Kim Dickens and Frank Dillane.

— brian lowry, CNN, "'Fear the Walking Dead' gets major makeover with Morgan's arrival," 13 Apr. 2018
In an effort to keep him engaged, officials have required Myers — the only deputy on the retirement board — to do association work in his or the board’s offices, not at home or another off-sire location.

— joshua stewart, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Sheriff Gore said he considered firing his rival for office, but thought it would look bad," 5 Apr. 2018
Last year, the Dubai World Cup was won by Arrogate, a half-brother of Forever Unbridled through their sire, the leading North American stallion Unbridled's Song.

— danielle rossingh, CNN, "The mare bred by a diamond hunter trying to make racing history," 30 Mar. 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.

Origin and Etymology of sire

Middle English, from Anglo-French, lord, feudal superior, from Vulgar Latin *seior, alteration of Latin senior older — more at senior

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

sire Synonyms

Other Forms of Address Terms

appellation, beatitude, brethren, emeritus, esquire, sous

sire

verb

sired; siring

transitive verb

1 : beget —used especially of male domestic animals

2 : to bring into being : originate

See sire defined for English-language learners

Examples of sire in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples of sire from the Web

The rights to sire offspring from Justify were purchased by Coolmore Stud, an Irish thoroughbred program, from an eclectic group consisting of an NFL executive, Chinese investors, a proper Kentucky horseman and others.

— christina capatides, CBS News, "Justify becomes most valuable racehorse ever with $75M breeding deal," 12 June 2018
And so a fan favorite was … not born exactly, because vampires are sired.

— andrew dansby, Houston Chronicle, "‘Buffy’ vampire James Marsters comes out in the daylight for Comicpalooza," 23 May 2018
This helps the individual survive to sire more offspring, thus propagating the genes that code for fitness.

— matt simon, WIRED, "The Shape-Shifting Robot That Evolves by Falling Down," 18 May 2018
Distorted Humor had already sired a Kentucky Derby winner, Funny Cide, the 2003 champion; Princess Ash’s father, Indian Charlie, had a breeding line that was performing well.

— david gendelman, New York Times, "How to Prepare a Horse for the Preakness," 12 May 2018
One of four Derby entrants sired by the late Scat Daddy, Mendelssohn’s mom is Leslie’s Lady, a mare that has produced three Grade 1 stakes winners and, most recently, a filly fathered by American Pharoah.

— tim sullivan, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky Derby hopeful Mendelssohn has the look and genes of a winner," 3 May 2018
Also considered one of the greatest racers in the sport's history, Seattle Slew sired 1984 Kentucky Derby-winner Swale and many of his descendants are still on the track in 2018.

— lucas aulbach, The Courier-Journal, "How many horses have won the Triple Crown? A history of the honor," 1 May 2018
Sudan sired two females, offering hope that the species could be preserved.

— author: robyn dixon, Anchorage Daily News, "The last male northern white rhino has died, spelling probable extinction for the species," 21 Mar. 2018
Still, there are plenty of records left to break for the world's equal-highest rated racehorse, who was sired by Irish stallion Street Cry.

— danielle rossingh, CNN, "Superstar mare Winx joins Black Caviar at racing's peak," 16 Apr. 2018

First Known Use of sire

1611

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

sire Synonyms

Synonyms

beget, father, get;

bear, engender, gender, generate, produce;

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

apiary, bantam, calico, girth, hogwash, mast, rut

SIRE Defined for English Language Learners

sire

noun

—used formerly to address a man of rank or authority (such as a king or lord)
: a male parent of some animals (such as dogs and horses)

sire

verb

of an animal : to become the father of (an animal)
: to become the father of (a child)

SIRE Defined for Kids

sire

noun \ ˈsīr \

1 often capitalized : ¹father 1

2 : the male parent of a domestic animal

3 —used in the past to address a man of rank (as a king)

Your horses are ready, sire.

sire

verb

sired; siring

: to become the father of

Medical Dictionary

sire

noun \ ˈsī(ə)r \

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

sire

transitive verb

sired; siring

: to procreate as the male parent of

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Examples of sire in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sire from the Web

Origin and Etymology of sire

sire Synonyms

Synonyms

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Related Words

Other Forms of Address Terms

sire

Examples of sire in a Sentence

Recent Examples of sire from the Web

First Known Use of sire

sire Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Other Animal Husbandry Terms

SIRE Defined for English Language Learners

sire

sire

SIRE Defined for Kids

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Medical Dictionary

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