: a man entitled to be addressed as sir—used as a title before the given name of a knight or baronet and formerly sometimes before the given name of a priest
b
: a man of rank or position
2
a
—used as a usually respectful form of address
b
capitalized—used as a conventional form of address in the salutation of a letter
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the WebGovernor Hutchinson, welcome back to Meet the Press, sir. GOV.NBC News, 26 June 2022 God bless you sir for putting so much effort into this race. Paul Steinhauser, Fox News, 18 May 2022 Mayor Byron Brown of Buffalo, thank you so much, sir.NBC News, 15 May 2022 No offense sir, but was wondering what’d the situation be if my response was typed in Kannada!! Ananya Bhattacharya, Quartz, 28 Apr. 2022 Foreign Minister Kuleba, welcome to Meet the Press, sir.NBC News, 10 Apr. 2022 Hardworking Gentlemen | Natural Body Wash Are you, good sir, a gentleman of quality, work ethic, and uncompromising taste?The Salt Lake Tribune, 29 Mar. 2022 Nice try, sir, but this only makes Susie feel worse. Kristen Baldwin, EW.com, 9 Mar. 2022 No sir, and the reason is, different audiences treat music differently than 50 years ago. Mark Elibert, Billboard, 14 Feb. 2022 See More
Word History
Etymology
Middle English, from sire
First Known Use
13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Phrases Containing sir
sir-reverence
sir-reverence
Kids Definition
sir
noun
ˈsər
1
—used without a name as a form of polite address to a man
May I help you, sir?
2
capitalized—used as a title before the given name of a knight or a baronet
Sir Walter Raleigh
3
capitalized—used without a name as a form of address at the beginning of a letter