er

[ uh, er ]
/ ə, ər /
SEE SYNONYMS FOR er ON THESAURUS.COM

interjection

(used to express or represent a pause, hesitation, uncertainty, etc.).

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH er

er err

Words nearby er

equivocally, equivocate, equivocation, equivoque, equuleus, er, er rif, era, eradiate, eradicable, eradicate

Definition for er (2 of 13)

Er

Symbol, Chemistry.

erbium.

Definition for er (3 of 13)

ER

efficiency report.
emergency room.

Definition for er (4 of 13)

-er 1

a suffix used in forming nouns designating persons from the object of their occupation or labor (hatter; tiler; tinner; moonshiner), or from their place of origin or abode (Icelander; southerner; villager), or designating either persons or things from some special characteristic or circumstance (six-footer; three-master; teetotaler; fiver; tenner).
a suffix serving as the regular English formative of agent nouns, being attached to verbs of any origin (bearer; creeper; employer; harvester; teacher; theorizer).
Compare -ier1, -yer.

Origin of -er

1
Middle English -er(e), a coalescence of Old English -ere agentive suffix (cognate with Old High German -āri, Gothic -areis < Germanic *-arjaz (> Slavic *-arĭ) < Latin -ārius -ary) and Old English -ware forming nouns of ethnic or residential orig. (as Rōmware Romans), cognate with Old High German -āri < Germanic *-warioz people

Definition for er (5 of 13)

-er 2

a noun suffix occurring in loanwords from French in the Middle English period, most often names of occupations (archer; butcher; butler; carpenter; grocer; mariner; officer), but also other nouns (corner; danger; primer). Some historical instances of this suffix, as in banker or gardener, where the base is a recognizable modern English word, are now indistinguishable from denominal formations with -er1, as miller or potter.

Origin of -er

2
Middle English < Anglo-French -er, equivalent to Old French -er, -ier < Latin -ārius, -ārium. Cf. -ary, -eer, -ier2

Definition for er (6 of 13)

-er 3

a termination of nouns denoting action or process: dinner; rejoinder; remainder; trover.

Origin of -er

3
< French, orig. infinitive suffix -er, -re

Definition for er (7 of 13)

-er 4

a suffix regularly used in forming the comparative degree of adjectives: harder; smaller.

Origin of -er

4
Middle English -er(e), -re, Old English -ra, -re; cognate with German -er

Definition for er (8 of 13)

-er 5

a suffix regularly used in forming the comparative degree of adverbs: faster.

Origin of -er

5
Middle English -er(e), -re, Old English -or; cognate with Old High German -or, German -er

Definition for er (9 of 13)

-er 6

a formal element appearing in verbs having frequentative meaning: flicker; flutter; shiver; shudder.

Origin of -er

6
Middle English; Old English -r-; cognate with German -(e)r-

Definition for er (10 of 13)

-er 7

a suffix that creates informal or jocular mutations of more neutral words, which are typically clipped to a single syllable if polysyllabic, before application of the suffix, and which sometimes undergo other phonetic alterations: bed-sitter; footer; fresher; rugger. Most words formed thus have been limited to English public-school and university slang; few, if any, have become current in North America, with the exception of soccer, which has also lost its earlier informal character.
Compare -ers.

Origin of -er

7
probably modeled on nonagentive uses of -er1; said to have first become current in University College, Oxford, 1875–80

Definition for er (11 of 13)

E.R. 1

King Edward.

Origin of E.R.

1
From the New Latin word Edwardus Rex

Definition for er (12 of 13)

E.R. 2

Queen Elizabeth.

Origin of E.R.

2
From the New Latin word Elizabeth Regina

Definition for er (13 of 13)

E.R. 3

East Riding (Yorkshire).
East River (New York City).
emergency room.

Words related to er

emergency, exclamation, wow, amen, hello, alas, boo, hurrah, ahem, oh, whoopee, hooray, shucks, ouch, rah, ah, egad, golly, hey, huh

Example sentences from the Web for er

British Dictionary definitions for er (1 of 6)

er 1
/ (ə, ɜː) /

interjection

a sound made when hesitating in speech

British Dictionary definitions for er (2 of 6)

er 2

the internet domain name for

Eritrea

British Dictionary definitions for er (3 of 6)

Er

the chemical symbol for

erbium

British Dictionary definitions for er (4 of 6)

ER

abbreviation for

(in the US) Emergency Room (in hospitals)
Elizabeth Regina
Eduardus Rex

Word Origin for ER

Latin: Queen Elizabeth

British Dictionary definitions for er (5 of 6)

-er 1

suffix forming nouns

a person or thing that performs a specified action reader; decanter; lighter
a person engaged in a profession, occupation, etc writer; baker; bootlegger
a native or inhabitant of islander; Londoner; villager
a person or thing having a certain characteristic newcomer; double-decker; fiver

Word Origin for -er

Old English -ere; related to German -er, Latin -ārius

British Dictionary definitions for er (6 of 6)

-er 2

suffix

forming the comparative degree of adjectives (deeper, freer, sunnier, etc) and adverbs (faster, slower, etc)

Word Origin for -er

Old English -rd, -re (adj), -or (adv)

Medical definitions for er (1 of 2)

Er

The symbol for the elementerbium

Medical definitions for er (2 of 2)

ER

abbr.

emergency room
endoplasmic reticulum

Scientific definitions for er (1 of 2)

Er

The symbol for erbium.

Scientific definitions for er (2 of 2)

erbium
[ ûr′bē-əm ]

Er

A soft, silvery, metallic element of the lanthanide series. It is used as a neutron absorber in nuclear technology and in light amplification for fiber-optic telecommunications. Atomic number 68; atomic weight 167.26; melting point 1,497°C; boiling point 2,900°C; specific gravity 9.051; valence 3. See Periodic Table.