suitor

American  

[soo-ter] / ˈsu tər /

noun

1. a man who courts or woos a woman.

2. Law. a petitioner or plaintiff.

3. a person who sues or petitions for anything.

4. Informal. an individual who seeks to buy a business.

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suitor British  

/ ˈsuːtə, ˈsjuːt- /

noun

1. a man who courts a woman; wooer

2. law a person who brings a suit in a court of law; plaintiff

3. rare a person who makes a request or appeal for anything

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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

The league is taking a flexible approach to selling the games and is willing to field offers for some or all of the inventory from suitors, said a person familiar with the NFL’s thinking.

From The Wall Street Journal

Brown-Forman has long been seen as ripe for a potential merger or acquisition, and it has attracted interest from other suitors in the past.

From The Wall Street Journal

After such a steep selloff in Brown-Forman’s stock, there is reason to believe it has become attractive to a suitor.

From MarketWatch

Hoping to push Google to commit to a deal, they flirted with another suitor: Mark Zuckerberg of Facebook.

From The Wall Street Journal

In addition to the pause on airing the season, the collapse also casts doubt on the future of “The Bachelor” since the next lead would likely been chosen from Paul’s suitors.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• admirer
• beau
• boyfriend
• lover
• paramour