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• usher
  usher

  noun

  a person who escorts people to seats in a theater, church, etc.
• Usher
  Usher

  noun

  James. Ussher, James.

usher

¹ American  

[uhsh-er] / ˈʌʃ ər /

noun

• ushers
  plural

1. a person who escorts people to seats in a theater, church, etc.

2. a person acting as an official doorkeeper, as in a courtroom or legislative chamber.

3. a male attendant of a bridegroom at a wedding.

4. an officer whose business it is to introduce strangers or to walk before a person of rank.

5. British Archaic. a subordinate teacher or an assistant in a school.

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verb (used with object)

• ushers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ushered,
  past participle,  past
• ushering
  present participle

1. to act as an usher to; lead, introduce, or conduct.

   She ushered them to their seats.

2. to attend or bring at the coming or beginning; precede or herald (usually followed byin ).

   to usher in the new theater season.

verb (used without object)

• ushers,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ushered,
  past participle,  past
• ushering
  present participle

1. to act as an usher.

   He ushered at the banquet.

Usher ² American  

[uhsh-er] / ˈʌʃ ər /

noun

1. James. Ussher, James.

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usher ¹ British  

/ ˈʌʃə /

noun

1. an official who shows people to their seats, as in a church or theatre

2. a person who acts as doorkeeper, esp in a court of law

3. (in England) a minor official charged with maintaining order in a court of law

4. an officer responsible for preceding persons of rank in a procession or introducing strangers at formal functions

5. obsolete a teacher

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verb

1. to conduct or escort, esp in a courteous or obsequious way

2. (usually foll by in) to be a precursor or herald (of)

Usher ² British  

/ ˈʌʃə /

noun

1. a variant spelling of (James) Ussher

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• underusher
  noun
• ushership
  noun
• unushered
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ushers
  plural

Participles

• ushering
  present
• ushered
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• usher
  simple
• ushers
  simple
• have ushered
  perfect
• has ushered
  perfect
• am ushering
  progressive
• are ushering
  progressive
• is ushering
  progressive
• have been ushering
  perfect progressive
• has been ushering
  perfect progressive

Past

• ushered
  simple
• had ushered
  perfect
• was ushering
  progressive
• were ushering
  progressive
• had been ushering
  perfect progressive

Future

• will usher
  simple
• will have ushered
  perfect
• will be ushering
  progressive
• will have been ushering
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of usher

1350–1400; Middle English uscher doorkeeper < Anglo-French usser, Old French ( h ) uissier doorman, officer of justice < Vulgar Latin *ustiārius, equivalent to Latin ōsti ( um ) door + -ārius -ary; see -er ²

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Explanation

That guy who guided you to your seat? He's called an usher. You most often see ushers at movie theaters and weddings. An usher is someone with the job of helping people find their seats. At the movies, ushers take your tickets and tell you where to go. At some theaters and sports venues, the ushers might actually take you to your seat — they usher you there. If you're an usher in a wedding party, it's your job to walk guests down the aisle and to their seats. The doorkeeper at a courtroom or legislative chamber is called an usher, too.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

usher Usher ushers ushered ushering

It will alter streaming for millions, usher in a new chapter in the film and TV industry, and leave one of the biggest US news outlets, CNN, in uncertain territory.

From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026

Treasury yields declined early on Friday, helping to usher in a broad-based rally for stocks.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 4, 2026

Robinhood skyrocketed to national prominence during the 2021 meme-stock frenzy, when its easy-to-use app helped usher in a wave of trading during the pandemic.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

With this new test, SpaceX hopes to usher in an "exciting new phase" of development that will include, among other things, tests of refueling the rocket in orbit.

From Barron's ● Sep. 28, 2026

Then I usher them into their house and stop in the kitchen.

From "Dry" by Neal Shusterman and Jarrod Shusterman

The BBC's Africa correspondent Barbara Plett Usher speaks to two doctors who support the claims of systemic targeting of hospitals.

From BBC ● Oct. 23, 2026

For days when Usher needs to blow off some steam, he need only head to the basketball court or the custom yoga deck.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026

Brown is currently performing with Usher on their joint North American stadium tour.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026

BBC correspondent Barbara Plett Usher, reporting from Jerusalem, examines the latest tensions over the key international shipping channel.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Admit that Gingersnipes was the new Usher of Deadwood?

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

Every day, diligent ushers stood like bouncers at the court's heavy, soundproof doors.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

The formal declaration of Fujimori's win brings one of Peru's tightest leadership contests of all time to a close and ushers in the Andean nation's ninth president in a decade.

From Barron's ● Jul. 3, 2026

It was a blur of champagne, full sized In-N-Out cheeseburgers, chic ushers wearing Dior uniforms with snug grey sweaters and slacks that pooled perfectly at the leg.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

The new year ushers in bigger paychecks for many workers — but those wage increases may not feel so impressive as prices also increase.

From MarketWatch ● Mar. 6, 2026

Some were detailed as ushers, who seated the people by designated sections.

From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey

Teachers scooped up the stragglers and ushered them into the shelter's entrance, while the cleaner scanned the playground, muttering as she checked that no one had been left behind.

From Barron's ● Oct. 21, 2026

Still, I was curious to test their capabilities, so Pinkerton ushered a robot to my kitchen sink, where I had assembled a small selection of dishes that I deemed expendable.

From MarketWatch ● Oct. 16, 2026

One when another newly confident leader, David Cameron, ushered in the modern Tory party on the conference stage in front of digitally produced green foliage and sunlight.

From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026

Pruett ushered them inside, fed them and sent them away with some cash — after making them wash their own dishes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026

The men and children are ushered out, and we begin the long wait.

From "Blood on the River" by Elisa Carbone

“The terminals are old! They weren’t meant for this,” a tired CTA employee explained, kindly ushering us through the stroller entrance as the next train rumbled toward the platform.

From Salon ● Oct. 17, 2026

Carter is widely credited with ushering the “Born This Way” singer into superstardom in the aughts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026

David Ellison’s megadeal combining Paramount and Warner Bros. closed Tuesday, ushering in a new era for Hollywood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 7, 2026

Wintermute’s U.S. arm has registered as a broker-dealer, ushering the crypto-trading firm into regulated Wall Street and clearing a path for its expansion into traditional financial services.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026

Of course, Clare felt the exact opposite after ushering souls to the other three realms.

From "The Undead Fox of Deadwood Forest" by Aubrey Hartman

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Related Words

• escort
• initiate
• precede
• steer

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