Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

usher

[ˈʌʃ.ɚ]

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.51 in modern English

Syllables
ush-er
IPA
[ˈʌʃ.ɚ]
8
Scrabble Score
5
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A person, in a church, cinema etc., who escorts people to their seats.

noun

A male escort at a wedding.

noun

A doorkeeper in a courtroom.

noun

An assistant to a head teacher or schoolteacher; an assistant teacher.

Obsolete

noun

Any schoolteacher.

Dated; Derogatory

verb

To guide people to their seats.

Transitive verb

verb

To accompany or escort (someone).

Transitive verb

verb

To precede; to act as a forerunner or herald.

Transitive verb

Example Sentences

Etymology

From Middle English ussher, uscher, usscher, from Anglo-Norman usser and Old French ussier, uissier (“porter, doorman”) (compare French huissier), from Vulgar Latin *ustiārius (“doorkeeper”), from Latin ōstiārius, from ōstium (“door”). Akin to ōs (“mouth”). Probably a doublet of ostiary and huissier.

Origin

Word Breakdown

  • Root: ussher, usser, ussier, ōstiārius

Regional Pronunciation

  • American English: [ˈʌʃ.ɚ]
  • British English: [ˈʌʃ.ə(ɹ)]

Usage

Inflected Forms

Derived Forms

Phrases

Synonyms

Rhymes With

Questions

How do you pronounce usher?
The recorded pronunciation is [ˈʌʃ.ɚ].
What does usher mean?
A person, in a church, cinema etc., who escorts people to their seats.
Where does usher come from?
It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce usher

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “usher”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling ([ˈʌʃ.ɚ]) so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “usher”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “usher” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.