sir
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sir¹
- /sɜː/ Australia, UK
- /sɜɹ/ US
- [sɝ] US
- /səɹ/ US
- [sɚ] US
- /sɪɾ/ Scotland
- /søː/ New Zealand, Wales
- /seː/
- /sɛː/
- /sæːɾ/
- /sə(ɹ)/ unstressed
Rhymes with -ɜː(ɹ), -ɪr
Where it comes from
From Middle English sir, unstressed form of sire, borrowed from Old French sire (“master, sir, lord”), from Latin senior (“older, elder”), from senex (“old”). Doublet of seigneur, seignior, senhor, senior, señor, senyor, signore, and sire.
noun sirs · saar · ser
- A man of a higher rank or position.
- A respectful term of address to a man of higher rank or position, particularly Jeeves: Foreign travel often liberates emotions best kept in check, sir. The air of North America is notoriously stimulating in this regard, as witness the regrettable behavior of its inhabitants in 1776. B. Wooster: Hm? What happened in 1776, Jeeves? Jeeves: I prefer not to dwell on it, if it's con
- to a knight or other low member of the peerage. Just be careful. He gets whingy now if you don't address him as Sir John.
- to a superior military officer. Sir, yes sir.
- to a teacher. Here's my report, sir.
- A respectful term of address to an adult male (often older), especially if his name or proper title is unknown. Excuse me, sir, do you know the way to the art museum?
verb sirs · sirring · sirred · saar · ser
- To address another individual using "sir". Sir, yes, sir! —Don't you sir me, private! I work for a living!
Sir²
noun Sirs
- Alternative letter-case form of sir “Every minute,” continued M. Krempe with warmth, “every instant that you have wasted on those books is utterly and entirely lost. You have burdened your memory with exploded systems, and useless names. Good God! in what desert land have you lived, where no one was kind enough to inform you that thes
- The titular prefix given to a knight or baronet.
- A respectful term of address or reference to a man of higher rank or position before the man's given name or nickname.
Sir³
proper noun
- Alternative form of Syr The Kara-tau, or "Black Mountain," the last spur of the Tian-shan towards the north-west, seldom exceeds 6,500 feet in height, but is geographically of great importance, as forming the water-parting between the Sir and Chu basins. It also abounds most in coal, iron, copper, and argentiferous lead.
SIR⁴
noun SIRs
- Initialism of surface insulation resistance
- Abbreviation of silent information regulator
proper noun
- Initialism of Special Intensive Revision, a voter-roll revision process in India. The Kerala government has moved the Supreme Court seeking a direction to the Election Commission (EC) of India to defer the conduct of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls of the State. The State said the conduct of the “cumbersome” SIR process from November 4 to December 4 wo
adjective
- Initialism of susceptible-infected/infectious-removed/recovered
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: master, gentleman, chief, commanding, boss, signore, excellency, knight, chevalier, seigneur, counselor, monsieur, nobleman, chairman, honourable, leader
Translations
Every language
noun address to a military superior
| Kiswahili | afande |
|---|---|
| Português | senhor |
| Italiano | signore |
| Română | să trăiți |
| Русский | това́рищ továrišč, господи́н gospodín |
| עברית | המפקד hamfakéd |
noun man of a higher rank or position
| 日本語 | 旦那 danna |
|---|---|
| Português | senhor |
| Italiano | signore |
| Ελληνικά | Σέρ Sér |
| Русский | господи́н gospodín |
noun address to any male, especially if his name or proper address is unknown
| Español | señor |
|---|---|
| 한국어 | 선생님 seonsaengnim, -씨 -ssi, 아저씨 ajeossi |
| 日本語 | お兄さん oniisan, 僕 boku, 旦那 danna, 旦那様 danna-sama |
| 中文 | 先生 xiānsheng |
| हिन्दी | श्रीमान śrīmān, श्री śrī, सर sar, साहिब sāhib, महोदय mahoday, जनाब janāb |
| Português | senhor |
| Français | monsieur |
| Deutsch | Herr, mein Herr |
| Italiano | signore |
| Ελληνικά | κύριος kýrios, κύριε kýrie |
| Română | domn |
| Русский | су́дарь súdarʹ, господи́н gospodín |
| Tiếng Việt | ngài, ông |
| العربية | أُسْتَاذ ʔustāḏ, سَيِّد sayyid, سَيِّدِي sayyidī, حَضْرَتَك ḥaḍratak, أَفَنْدِي ʔafandī, بَاشَا bāšā |
| עברית | אֲדוֹנִי adoní |
noun title of a nobleman
| Español | don, doña |
|---|---|
| Português | dom, dona |
| Français | monsieur, madame |
| Italiano | don, donna, madama |
| Română | domn, doamnă |
| العربية | سَيِّد sayyid, سَيِّدَة sayyida |
verb to address (someone) using "sir"
| Français | vouvoyer |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Siezen |
| Italiano | dare del Lei |
Talk about this word "sir." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/sir. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. sir. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/sir "sir." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/sir.Cite this
@misc{sir_2026,
title = {sir},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/sir},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
