An usher is a person who helps guide people to their seats at events like weddings, theaters, or concerts. Ushers welcome guests, check tickets, and show people where to sit, making sure everyone finds the right place without confusion or crowding in the aisles.

At a movie theater, an usher might tear your ticket and point you toward the correct screen. At a wedding, ushers (often friends or relatives of the bride and groom) escort guests down the aisle to their seats before the ceremony begins. In older theaters and concert halls, ushers carry small flashlights to help latecomers find empty seats in the dark without disturbing the performance.

The word can also be used as a verb meaning to guide or lead someone somewhere. A teacher might usher students into the auditorium for an assembly. More broadly, something that ushers in a new period causes it to begin: the invention of the printing press ushered in an age of widespread literacy, or the first warm day of spring ushers in the growing season.

The job requires courtesy and awareness: good ushers pay attention to where people need to go and help them get there smoothly, making sure events run without confusion.