Mister

See also: mister and míster

English

Etymology

See mister.

Pronunciation

• enPR: mĭsʹ-tər, IPA^(key): /ˈmɪstəɹ/
• (UK) IPA^(key): [ˈmɪstə(ɹ)]
• (US) IPA^(key): [ˈmɪstɚ]

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪstə(ɹ)
• Homophones: Mr., mister

Noun

Mister (plural Misters or Messieurs)

1. A general title of respect for an adult male.
   1. With a surname.

      This is Mister Smith, assistant to the President.

   2. With a full name.

      This is Mister James Smith, assistant to the President.

   3. (regional or dated subservient) With a first name only.

      Will Mister Robert be staying for dinner?

2. An official form of address to a male president of a nation.

   Mister President

3. A formal address to any male official of an organization.

   Mister Secretary

   Mister Treasurer

   Mister Attorney

   Mister Justice

4. An official title of a military man, usually anyone below rank of captain.
5. A male warrant officer or cadet in the United States Military Academy at West Point.
6. An informal title that is used to create a nickname, placeholder name, or other moniker for a male.

   Mister Suave

   He's Mister Baseball around here.

   Hey, Mister magenta-shirt over there looks a lot like your cousin Bill.

7. A title used to designate the (male) winner of certain kinds of competition.

   The Mister Universe finals will be held in Los Angeles.

   And now I can reveal that this year's Mister Personality is ... Stanley Cheeseworth!

8. (colloquial, sometimes hostile, sometimes written 'mister') Used by itself as a familiar term of address to a man whose name is unknown, or sometimes even if the name is known.

   'Scuse me Mister, do you have the time?

   Now you listen to me, Mister. If I see you round here again, there'll be trouble.

Usage notes

In writing, usually abbreviated to Mr (chiefly UK) or Mr. (now chiefly US) when followed by a name or other designation; for example "Dear Mr Smith" rather than "Dear Mister Smith".

The nickname sense is often used to imply that the person so named is uniquely identified with the thing to which "Mister" is added – the epitome of it, or someone who identifies completely with it.

Synonyms

• Mr, Mr.

Coordinate terms

• (titles) (of a man): Mr (Mister, mister), Sir (sir); (of a woman): Ms (Miz, mizz), Mrs (Mistress, mistress), Miss (miss), Dame (dame), Madam (madam, ma'am); (of a non-binary person): Mx (Mixter); (see also): Dr (Doctor, doctor) ^{(Category: en:Titles)}

Derived terms

• Mister Big
• Mister Charlie
• Mister Irrelevant
• Mister Nice Guy
• Mister Right
• Mister Wrong
• Mr. Claus
• Mr. Magoo glasses
• Mr. President

Proper noun

Mister

1. A surname.

Statistics

• According to the 2010 United States Census, Mister is the 21553^rd most common surname in the United States, belonging to 1,211 individuals. Mister is most common among White (61.85%) individuals.

Anagrams

• ermits, merits, miters, mitres, remits, smiter, timers, tremis