sire

noun \ ˈsī(-ə)r \

|Updated on: 11 Aug 2018

Examples: sire in a Sentence

Definition of sire

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

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
Now, the risk of injury that would short-circuit a lucrative career as a sire seems to loom a lot larger.

— New York Times, "What’s Next for Justify? Maybe More Races, or Maybe Just the Breeding Shed," 12 June 2018
War Admiral, 1937 Fun fact: War Admiral, the colt from another famous sire, Man o’ War, was also known for rivalry with another famous racing horse: Seabiscuit.

— madeline farber, Fox News, "Triple Crown winners through the years, from American Pharoah to Sir Barton," 9 June 2018
In an epic renewal of the Belmont, Vino Rosso's sire, Curlin, lost by a head in 2007 to the filly Rags to Riches (who should be in the Hall of Fame).

— john cherwa, latimes.com, "Racing! Seattle Slew is No. 3 in Triple Crown countdown; Jon White’s final Belmont rankings," 8 June 2018
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

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

Definition of sire

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

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
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

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

Definition of sire for English Language Learners

—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

Definition of sire for English Language Learners

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

SIRE Defined for Kids

sire

noun \ ˈsīr \

Definition of sire for Students

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

Definition of sire for Students

sired; siring

: to become the father of

Medical Dictionary

sire

noun \ ˈsī(ə)r \

medical Definition of sire

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

sire

transitive verb

medical Definition of sire

sired; siring

: to procreate as the male parent of

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Definition of sire

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Origin and Etymology of sire

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Other Forms of Address Terms

sire

Definition of 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

Definition of sire for English Language Learners

sire

Definition of sire for English Language Learners

SIRE Defined for Kids

sire

Definition of sire for Students

sire

Definition of sire for Students

Medical Dictionary

sire

medical Definition of sire

sire

medical Definition of sire

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