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usher

verb · noun

Simple meaning

Take to their seats.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

uhsher

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ˈʌʃɚ

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

verb

  1. Take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums

    “The usher showed us to our seats.”

  2. To guide people to their seats.

  3. To accompany or escort (someone).

  4. figurative

    To precede; to act as a forerunner or herald.

  5. figurative

    To lead or guide somewhere.

noun

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

  2. A male escort at a wedding.

  3. An official stationed at the entrance of a courtroom or legislative chamber

  4. A doorkeeper in a courtroom.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

Word Aura™

How this word commonly comes across.

Aura for this meaning

This meaning: Take (someone) to their seats, as in theaters or auditoriums

Used this way, usher is a common word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.

Heard in a sentence
“The usher showed us to our seats.”
Emotional tone
Neutral
Formality
Neutral
Intensity
Not strongly marked
How common
Common
Connotation
No strong connotation
Usage feel
Neutral and straightforward

Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.

More ways to use usher

  • “The usher showed us to our seats.”verb

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

gentleman usherusher syndromearchbishop usherhead usherchief usherjohn usher

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • usher inverbCompound term

    Be a precursor of.

  • usher outverbCompound term

    End one's encounter with somebody by causing or permitting the person to leave.

  • ushering innounCompound term

    The introduction of something new.

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.