squire

noun \ ˈskwī(-ə)r \

|Updated on: 21 Jul 2018

Examples: squire in a Sentence

Definition of squire

1 : a shield bearer or armor bearer of a knight

2 a : a male attendant especially on a great personage

b : a man who devotedly attends a lady : gallant

3 a : a member of the British gentry ranking below a knight and above a gentleman

b : an owner of a country estate; especially : the principal landowner in a village or district

c (1) : justice of the peace

(2) : lawyer

(3) : judge

—

squirish

play \ˈskwīr-ish\ adjective

See squire defined for English-language learners

See squire defined for kids

Recent Examples of squire from the Web

The story follows following the 16-year-old squire Tiuri in his journey to become a knight and his task of delivering a crucial letter to the leader of the neighboring kingdom.

— scott roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, "Netflix to Adapt Dutch Kids Book 'The Letter for the King' as Original Series," 12 July 2018
In the first, squire Pozzo eats a chicken haunch for lunch and, feeling garrulous, engages social inferiors Gogo and Didi in conversation.

— tony adler, Chicago Reader, "After all these years, we’re still Waiting for Godot," 30 May 2018
There are jaunty fellows in pocket squares eager to greet you, squire you to a table, and discuss cocktails.

— kara baskin, BostonGlobe.com, "Talulla in Huron Village, where white tablecloths don’t mean you can’t have fun," 10 May 2018
Pepe is the boss on defense, Joao Moutinho is the fulcrum of the midfield and Andre Silva could be Ronaldo’s squire in the attack.

— josé luis sánchez pando, chicagotribune.com, "2018 World Cup Group B: An affair of two," 23 May 2018
As Huang reveals, the twins were much more than a freak show spectacle — strivers, showmen and slaveholders who settled in rural North Carolina, country squires who loved to hunt and fish.

— vanessa hua, San Francisco Chronicle, "‘Inseparable,’ by Yunte Huang," 10 May 2018
SUBSCRIBE TODAY Cervantes and his squire, Sancho Panza, are the newest arrivals at the dungeon, where prisoners await their disposition.

— mitchel benson, sacbee, "'Man of La Mancha' is a soul-stirring musical about hope and honor | The Sacramento Bee," 25 Apr. 2018
The other, Ken Dodd, stayed firmly on the ground, the joke-telling squire of the jam butty mines of Knotty Ash.

— chris jones, chicagotribune.com, "Why the late, great Brits Stephen Hawking and Ken Dodd (who?) were more alike than you realize," 15 Mar. 2018
The Rockford squire wrote an article back around his birth and nicknamed him Storm Trooper.

— april stevens, Detroit Free Press, "Rockford man's body found after going missing in Bahamas," 10 Mar. 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of squire

Middle English squier, from Anglo-French esquier — more at esquire

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

squire

verb

Definition of squire

squired; squiring

transitive verb

: to attend as a squire : escort

Examples of squire in a Sentence

her father squired her to the dance to make sure she got there all right

Recent Examples of squire from the Web

James Beard, the cookbook author, squired her into the kitchen at the Four Seasons in New York.

— james r. hagerty, WSJ, "Ella Brennan Nurtured Celebrity Chefs but Didn’t Take Them Too Seriously," 8 June 2018
Then squire your companion across the street to the Boston Harbor Hotel’s Movies by Moonlight series, which starts at dusk every Friday evening.

— kara baskin, BostonGlobe.com, "8 great summer dates," 6 June 2018
Sedona, gateway to Arizona’s red rock country 90 minutes drive north of Phoenix, attracts hikers eager to scale its striated buttes and New Age pilgrims seeking the fabled vortexes — or energy centers — said to be squired in the rocks.

— elaine glusac, New York Times, "Sedona for Serenity, Spas and Now Syrahs," 18 Apr. 2018
His old friend Richie Neal, the congressman, and Domenic Sarno, the mayor, were going to squire him around Springfield, and the John Boyle O’Reilly Club would be buzzing.

— kevin cullen, BostonGlobe.com, "So much for the luck of the Irish," 15 Mar. 2018
The singer subsequently squired screen goddesses including Ava Gardner.

— adam bernstein, Washington Post, "Vic Damone, popular 1950s crooner and nightclub star, dies at 89," 12 Feb. 2018
The woman dressed her pet monkeys in baby clothes and squired them around in a pram.

— james ellroy, Vanities, "James Ellroy’s Buzz M for Murder," 7 Oct. 2017
And Mazzola himself was an early mover in the tradition of fashion magazine editors squiring actresses and singers to the collections.

— stephen mooallem, Harper's BAZAAR, "A Look Back at Harper's Bazaar in the 1980s," 29 Sep. 2017
The film’s story consists, in large part, of the conflict that Ana faces between squiring Christian through his urgent roundelay of business functions and pushing her own editorial career ahead.

— richard brody, The New Yorker, "“Fifty Shades Darker”: Not Even the Sex Has Personality," 9 Feb. 2017

First Known Use of squire

14th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

squire Synonyms

SQUIRE Defined for English Language Learners

squire

noun

Definition of squire for English Language Learners

: a young man in the Middle Ages who helped a knight before eventually becoming a knight himself
: a man in the past in England who owned most of the land in a village or district in the country
—used to address a man whose name is unknown