escort

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

1. n. One or more persons accompanying another to guide, protect, or show honor.
2. n. A man who is the companion of a woman, especially on a social occasion.
3. n. A person, often a prostitute, who is hired to spend time with another as a companion.
4. n. One or more vehicles accompanying another vehicle to guide, protect, or honor its passengers.
5. n. One or more warships or planes used to defend or protect other craft from enemy attack.
6. n. The state of being accompanied by a person or protective guard.
7. v. To accompany as an escort. See Synonyms at accompany.

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A protecting, guiding, or honorary guard in a progress of any kind; a person or a body of persons accompanying another or others for protection, guidance, or compliment; especially, an armed guard, as a company of soldiers or a vessel or vessels of war, for the protection of travelers, merchant ships, munitions of war, treasure, or the like.
2. n. Protection, safeguard, or guidance on a journey or an excursion: as, to travel under the escort of a friend.
3. To attend and guard on a journey or voyage; accompany; convoy, as a guard, protector, or guide, or by way of compliment: as, the guards escorted the Duke of Wellington; to escort a ship, a traveler, or a lady.
4. Synonyms To conduct, convoy.

Wiktionary

1. n. A body of armed men to attend a person of distinction for the sake of affording safety when on a journey; one who conducts some one as an attendant; a guard, as of prisoners on a march; also, a body of persons, attending as a mark of respect or honor; -- applied to movements on land, as convoy is to movements at sea.
2. n. An accompanying person in a social gathering etc.
3. n. Protection, care, or safeguard on a journey or excursion; as, to travel under the escort of a friend.
4. n. A sex worker who does not operate in a brothel, but with whom clients make appointments; a call girl or male equivalent.
5. v. To attend with a view to guard and protect; to accompany as safeguard; to give honorable or ceremonious attendance to; -- used especially with reference to journeys or excursions on land; as, to escort a public functionary, or a lady; to escort a baggage wagon.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. A body of armed men to attend a person of distinction for the sake of affording safety when on a journey; one who conducts some one as an attendant; a guard, as of prisoners on a march; also, a body of persons, attending as a mark of respect or honor; -- applied to movements on land, as convoy is to movements at sea.
2. n. Protection, care, or safeguard on a journey or excursion.
3. v. To attend with a view to guard and protect; to accompany as safeguard; to give honorable or ceremonious attendance to; -- used esp. with reference to journeys or excursions on land

WordNet 3.0

1. n. an attendant who is employed to accompany someone
2. v. accompany as an escort
3. n. someone who escorts and protects a prominent person
4. n. the act of accompanying someone or something in order to protect them
5. v. accompany or escort
6. n. a participant in a date