suitor

noun suit·or \ ˈsü-tər \

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

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

The fund plans to initially seek buyers for its stake among existing shareholders before reaching out to other potential suitors, the people said, asking not to be identified as the information is confidential.

— Bloomberg.com, "Zuckerberg Testifies Before Senate Panel," 10 Apr. 2018
The Welshman has just one year left on his current deal and has a number of suitors from across Europe.

— SI.com, "Arsenal Linked With £35m Move for Teenage Midfielder Amid Uncertainty Over Aaron Ramsey's Future," 7 Apr. 2018
Since that time, Williams has become an increasingly hot commodity, and has added Kentucky to a list of suitors that also includes Arizona, Arizona State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Oregon and others.

— andrew nemec, OregonLive.com, "Brandon Williams, 5-star PG, sets Oregon Ducks official visit," 6 Apr. 2018
Stanford, Princeton, University of Texas and Cornell are on her list of suitors.

— kate murphy, Cincinnati.com, "She's been offered $2.3M in scholarships to Ph.D. programs. She's not old enough to vote.," 29 Mar. 2018
Owens has trimmed his list of suitors down to Ohio State, Maryland, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Texas Tech, Western Kentucky, VCU and Old Dominion according to Scout's Evan Daniels.

— bill landis, cleveland.com, "Ohio State basketball grad transfer tracker: Potential targets for the Buckeyes," 26 Mar. 2018
Confectioner Necco, maker of the most iconic of Valentine’s Day candies, has a message for potential suitors: Be Mine.

— chris morris, Fortune, "Why Candy Hearts May Be Missing From Your Next Valentine's Day," 16 Mar. 2018
So, McQuiston figures the Pacers knew this was coming and will have a line of suitors eager to invest.

— dakota crawford, Indianapolis Star, "Bankers Life Fieldhouse will soon get new name: 'You've got to make sure it's a fit here'," 13 Mar. 2018
After many of the top prospects impressed at the combine — particularly at quarterback — the Browns and Colts GMs should have plenty of suitors.

— steven ruiz, For The Win, "NFL combine winners and losers: Josh Allen's performance great news for Browns, Colts," 5 Mar. 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