er

1 of 5

interjection

ˈə

usually with prolonged vowel

ˈä

nonstandard

ˈər

—used to express hesitation

2 of 5

adjective suffix or adverb suffix

—used to form the comparative degree of adjectives and adverbs of one syllable

hotterdrier

and of some adjectives and adverbs of two or more syllables

completerbeautifuller

-er

5 of 5

noun suffix

variants or less commonly -ier or -yer

: person occupationally connected with

furrier

lawyer

: person or thing belonging to or associated with

header

old-timer

: native of : resident of

cottager

New Yorker

: one that has

three-decker

: one that produces or yields

porker

: one that does or performs (a specified action)

batter

—sometimes added to both elements of a compound

builder-upper

: one that is a suitable object of (a specified action)

broiler

: one that is

foreigner

—in all senses -yer in a few words after w, -ier in a few other words, otherwise -er

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Interjection

And in ION TV's Dognapped: Hound for the Holidays (Nov. 24), a pooch owned by a selfish design maven is kidnapped, er, sorry, dognapped, sending her dedicated assistant (Sara Ball) on a most dangerous mission. —

Dan Snierson, EW.com, 11 Nov. 2022 At the end of the day — er, rather the end of the game — a simple adage holds sway. —

Dallas News, 3 Apr. 2022 However, er family’s net worth is around $100 million, TheCinemaholic reported. —

Addison Aloian, Women's Health, 23 Jan. 2023 Which is a shame, because this is a gorgeous, near-perfect rum—er, rhum. —

Tony Sachs, Robb Report, 18 Jan. 2023 Anyway, Gwen Johns turns out to be a Hollywood casting director who can get them in touch with Jimmy McCann, an actor who looks a lot like Gerald McRaney — er, Hollace Kilbride. —

Sara Netzley, EW.com, 10 Jan. 2023 Many others opt for Dry-ish, Dri-er or Damp January — cutting back on alcohol but not quitting cold turkey. —

Los Angeles Times, 27 Dec. 2022 Despite being the groom-ee or groom-er, or a higher-ranking versus lower-ranking party, distracted generally bonobos quickly resumed grooming with their previous partner in most instances. —

James Gaines, Discover Magazine, 12 Nov. 2022 The odds of making two amazing detections by pure chance are, er, astronomical. —

Corey S. Powell, Discover Magazine, 22 Jan. 2016 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'er.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Adjective suffix or adverb suffix

Middle English -er, -ere, -re, from Old English -ra (in adjectives), -or (in adverbs); akin to Old High German -iro, adjective comparative suffix, Latin -ior, Greek -iōn

Noun suffix

Middle English -er, -ere, -ier, -iere; partly from Old English -ere (from Latin -arius); partly from Old French -ier, -iere, from Latin -arius, -aria, -arium -ary; partly from Anglo-French -ere, from Latin -ator -or — more at -ary, -or

First Known Use

Interjection

1862, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler

The first known use of er was in 1862

See more words from the same year