archer

¹ American  

[ahr-cher] / ˈɑr tʃər /

noun

1. a person who shoots with a bow and arrow; bowman.

2. Astronomy, Astrology. Archer, the constellation or sign of Sagittarius.

3. an archerfish.

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Archer ² American  

[ahr-cher] / ˈɑr tʃər /

noun

1. William, 1856–1924, Scottish playwright, drama critic, and translator.

2. a first name.

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Archer ¹ British  

/ ˈɑːtʃə /

noun

1. Frederick Scott. 1813–57, British inventor and sculptor. He developed (1851) the wet collodion photographic process, enabling multiple copies of pictures to be made

2. Jeffrey ( Howard ), Baron Archer of Weston-Super-Mare. born 1940, British novelist and Conservative politician. He was an MP from 1969 until 1974. His novels include Kane and Abel (1979), Honour Among Thieves (1993), and The Fourth Estate (1996): from 2001 to 2003 he was imprisoned for perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice

3. William. 1856–1924, Scottish critic and dramatist: made the first English translations of Ibsen

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Archer ² British  

/ ˈɑːtʃə /

noun

1. the constellation Sagittarius, the ninth sign of the zodiac

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archer ³ British  

/ ˈɑːtʃə /

noun

1. a person skilled in the use of a bow and arrow

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Etymology

Origin of archer

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English, from Anglo-French; Old French archier, from Late Latin arcuārius, equivalent to arcu-, stem of arcus “bow” ( see arc) + -ārius -ary

Explanation

If you enjoy shooting arrows at a target with a bow, you can call yourself an archer. Some archers compete in the Olympics. In ancient times, archers primarily used their bows and arrows to hunt for food or battle against enemies. There were also famous archers in mythology, including Artemis and Apollo in ancient Greece and Diana and Cupid in ancient Rome. Archer was an Anglo-French word first, from the Old French archier, "archer" or "bowmaker," from the Latin arcus, or "bow."

Example Sentences

However, Badenoch accused the PM of "catching arrows rather than stopping the archer" in his approach.

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

Chinese archer Ai Xinliang describes him as “sunshine, giving light to all disabled persons.”

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 7, 2024

Megan Havers was the youngest archer competing at the Olympics - so always faced a tough task when facing number one seed Lim Si-hyeon in the women's individual archery.

From BBC • Aug. 3, 2024

He was, in fact, a skilled archer, and even campaigned to get the bow and arrow recognized as an official weapon of war in Britain.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 19, 2024

“All day and all night, might be even longer,” insisted one big, black-bearded archer with a Cerwyn axe sewn on his breast.

From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin

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