suitor

noun suit·or \ ˈsü-tər \

|Updated on: 17 Aug 2018

Examples: suitor in a Sentence

Definition of suitor

1 : one that petitions or entreats

2 : a party to a suit at law

3 : one who courts a woman or seeks to marry her

4 : one who seeks to take over a business

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Examples of suitor in a Sentence

He was her most persistent suitor, and she eventually agreed to marry him.
An unwanted suitor is buying up the company's stock.

Recent Examples of suitor from the Web

In an off-season when few teams are flush with cap space, the Lakers, Cavaliers and 76ers were among the only suitors that could afford him.

— ben cohen, WSJ, "LeBron James Takes His Talents to the Los Angeles Lakers," 1 July 2018
With each round, some daters are eliminated by the suitor or suitress concealed behind a barrier.

— carol motsinger, Cincinnati.com, "Cincinnati woman tries to get engaged to a stranger in an hour - and on television," 18 June 2018
The only other legitimate suitor would be the 76ers, who are coached by a former Popovich assistant (Brett Brown) but couldn’t offer much beyond Markelle Fultz, Robert Covington and Dario Saric.

— bruce jenkins, SFChronicle.com, "Warriors and revamped Lakers? Bring it on," 16 June 2018
Presumably that will also occur if Comcast wins over Fox’s board and becomes the leading suitor.

— chris welch, The Verge, "Comcast makes $65 billion offer to steal 21st Century Fox away from Disney," 13 June 2018
The Nationals and Phillies will be the primary suitors for Harper, and the Yankees, Phillies and Chicago Cubs are the favorites to land Machado.

— bob nightengale, USA TODAY, "MLB's great free agent class of 2018 limping toward finish line," 11 June 2018
Joseph Quinn brings Matt Saracen–levels of stuttering pathos to his role as the underclass suitor Leonard Bast.

— kat stoeffel, The Cut, "Howards End Is the Anti–Handmaid’s Tale," 17 May 2018
The potential suitor was Verizon Communications, according to two people familiar with the matter who were not authorized to speak publicly.

— meg james, latimes.com, "CBS chooses 'nuclear option' against Shari Redstone: It sues to thwart Viacom merger," 14 May 2018
Beach Bumming To decide which of her remaining suitors will earn the last rose, Becca invites Wills, Jason, and Leo out on a three-on-one date.

— melissa locker, Time, "The Bachelorette Recap: Becca Hopes That Love Will Find Her in the Bahamas," 10 July 2018

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

Origin and Etymology of suitor

Middle English sutour, suytour, follower, petitioner, from Anglo-French siuter, suytour, from Latin secutor follower, from sequi to follow — more at sue

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year