burgher

noun

bur·​gher ˈbər-gər 

1

: an inhabitant of a borough or a town

2

: a member of the middle class : a prosperous solid citizen

Synonyms

• citizen
• townie
• towny
• townsman
• villager

Examples of burgher in a Sentence

many of the college students are regarded by the local burghers as obnoxious louts

Recent Examples on the Web

Image The burghers who proffered sacrifice were spared at the last minute, French legend has it, making Rodin’s retrieval of life from death a symbolic one. —Walker Mimms, New York Times, 23 Jan. 2025

Seattle's best burgers (Image credit: Getty / Kevin Schafer) As of 2024, Dick's has been serving burgers to the burghers of Seattle for 70 years. —Neil Davey, theweek, 16 Sep. 2024

By Timothy O'Grady July 8, 2024 Belfast: city of riveters, inventors, linen mill girls, boxers, pamphleteers, revolutionaries, Lambeg drummers, Irish bagpipers, mission hall preachers, and mustachioed burghers with pocket watches. —Timothy O'Grady, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 July 2024

Conversion of old office buildings into apartments, lofts and condos was underway, but local burghers saw the Super Bowl as a catalyst that could create a boom in downtown living. —M.l. Elrick, Detroit Free Press, 22 Apr. 2024

The ensemble performs at Mass for the pleasure of the local burghers and townsfolk, whose contributions to Sant’Ignazio are obviously vital to its existence. —Leslie Felperin, The Hollywood Reporter, 3 Sep. 2019

One question implicit in the new novel is how many people will get to lead this burgher’s life before it’s taken away. —Charles Finch, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2020

No one paints so confidently and so freely, at least among the famous Old Masters, and no one can make a fat Dutch burgher look like a movie star. —Brian T. Allen, National Review, 3 Feb. 2022

But El Paso’s burghers had visions for a different Duranguito. —Gustavo Arellano, Los Angeles Times, 29 Apr. 2020

Word History

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for burgher

• turgor

Kids Definition

burgher

noun

bur·​gher ˈbər-gər 

: a person who lives in a borough or a town