suitor
Americannoun
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a man who courts or woos a woman.
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Law. a petitioner or plaintiff.
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a person who sues or petitions for anything.
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Informal. an individual who seeks to buy a business.
noun
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a man who courts a woman; wooer
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law a person who brings a suit in a court of law; plaintiff
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rare a person who makes a request or appeal for anything
Etymology
Origin of suitor
1250–1300; Middle English s ( e ) utor, suitour < Anglo-French < Latin secūtor, equivalent to secū-, variant stem of sequī to follow + -tor -tor
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After such a steep selloff in Brown-Forman’s stock, there is reason to believe it has become attractive to a suitor.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 26, 2026
Discovery, the winning suitor will likely overpay and take on billions in debt, Barron’s Andrew Bary reports.
From Barron's • Feb. 23, 2026
Bernstein’s Harshita Rawat wrote Monday that she thought private equity would be the most likely suitor for PayPal in its entirety, in part due to the company’s “pristine balance sheet.”
From MarketWatch • Feb. 23, 2026
Discovery said Tuesday it will restart deal talks with Paramount, setting the stage for a potential bidding war with its preferred suitor Netflix.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 17, 2026
After the last drop of spring water has been drunk, the young woman’s suitor is supposed to return to life.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
