Meaning of sir in English

sir

formal

/sɜːr/ us

/sɝː/

(also Sir)

used as a formal and polite way of speaking to a man, especially one who you are providing a service to or who is in a position of authority:

Would you like to see the menu, sir?

"Did you hear what I said?" "Yes, Sir."

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madam (WOMAN)
Miss
Ms

mainly UK

sometimes used by children to address or refer to teachers who are men:

Can I go to the toilet, sir?

Indian English

used after the name of a man, especially one who is in a position of authority, in order to be polite or show respect:

John Sir

Dear Sir

used to begin a formal letter to a man whose name you do not know. "Dear Sirs" is an old fashioned way of beginning a letter to a company:

Dear Sir, I am writing in response to your recent request for information.

Dear Sir or Madam

used to begin a formal letter when you do not know if the person you are writing to is a man or a woman:

Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to express my concern over the recent proposal to build housing on Orchard Park.

More examplesFewer examples

Come hither, young sir!
I'm sorry, sir, the salmon is off.
Officer Clarke will show you where to go, sir.
The seat of those trousers looks rather tight, sir - Would you like to try a larger size?
Would you like to settle up now, sir?

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Teachers

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Idiom

no sir

Sir

noun

strong /sɜːr/ weak /sər/ us

strong /sɝː/ weak /sɚ/

used as the title of a knight (= a man who has been given a rank of honour by a British king or queen), with a first name or with both first and family names, but never with just the family name:

Sir Walter (Scott)

More examplesFewer examples

Sir Geoffrey will see you now.
Sir Harold and Lady Wilson arrived at eight.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

Royalty, aristocracy & titles

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(Definition of sir from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

sir | American Dictionary

sir

noun [ C ]

/sɜr/

sir noun [C] (USED TO ADDRESS)

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a polite word used to address a man:

Excuse me, sir, do you know what time it is?

Sir is used at the beginning of a formal letter to a man you do not know:

Dear Sir

sir noun [C] (USED AS TITLE)

(also Sir)used as a title with the first or full name of a man given a rank of honor by a king or queen

(Definition of sir from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Sir | Business English

Sir

noun [ S ]

formal

/sɜːr/ us

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a formal and polite way of speaking to a man:

May I help you, Sir?

Dear Sir

the usual way of beginning a formal letter to a man whose name you do not know:

Dear Sir, I am writing to complain about the quality of the service I received last week.

Dear Sir or Madam

used to begin a formal letter when you do not know whether the person you are writing to is a man or a woman:

Dear Sir or Madam, I am writing to inform you that I wish to cancel my credit card.

Dear Sirs old-fashioned

used to begin a letter to a company when you do not have someone's name to write to directly

Compare

Madam

(Definition of sir from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of sir

sir

Can you read us the wording of your proposed amendment, sir?

From the Cambridge English Corpus

One that was a woman, sir; but, rest her soul, she's dead.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Forgive me, sir, consider my condition of unbearable suffering, consider my misfortune.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Let go, sir, let go, sir, don't lift up the cloth of my veil!

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Our major issue of interest was children's spelling of words like sir.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The best way send one to come and check this small thing quickly sir.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

His vocatives indicate this: the detachment of "sir" (2, 9), the conventional neutrality of "thou" (5), the intimacy of "my friend" (5).

From the Cambridge English Corpus

There must be someone in the background, sir; it can't be the cousin.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Yes sir; so far as the official information is concerned, it is correct.

From the

Hansard archive