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There is a stereotype: The man (just one of... not a husband or boy-friend) goes with girl or woman (usually by walk) to "guard" her on her way to home.

The question is how he/she says/call this:

A man: I will ____ you...

and/or Woman: Could you please _____ me...

Do you know the verb or phrase for it?

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    I will accompany you. There is the old-fashioned term "chaperone", but that is usually applied to old dames accompanying ladies, not to men.
    – CowperKettle
    Dec 19, 2015 at 10:22
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    A chaperone had a quite different function. See Wikipedia on the term. This is mostly about protection a young woman's 'modesty' against herself (or appearances). A man accompanying a woman home with nobody else present is precisely the kind of thing a chaperone was supposed to prevent.
    – user15325
    Dec 19, 2015 at 11:40
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    At least in the US, "walk you home" ("see you home", if not walking) would be used more commonly. "Escort you home" is more formal. You are probably better of not using "escort" here. The word "escort", in other usages (not in this usage), is used to describe paid companion services (usually by women paid by men), which could be anything from just spending time together to paid sex. As an English Language Learner, you are probably better off staying away from the possibility that a statement might be misunderstood that way. There are separate answers for each of these phrases.
    – Makyen
    Dec 19, 2015 at 21:48

4 Answers 4

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You asked The man (just one of... not a husband or boy-friend) goes with girl or woman (usually by walk) to "guard" her on her way to home. (emphasis added)

The answer is already there!

For Jane: Could you walk me home?
For John: Sure. I'll walk you home.

Here is a relevant definition by Macmillan Dictionary:

walk
2 [transitive] to go somewhere with someone on foot in order to be sure that they safely reach the place
When Valerie worked late, Carl always walked her home.

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  • Works provided you are actually walking. If using another means of transport (taxi, subway, bus, bicycle, etc.), the word "escort" is better.
    – Darrel Hoffman
    Dec 20, 2015 at 15:20
  • Or: "Will you walk with me to my car?" "Will you drive alongside me to the edge of the property?" You can use a fancy word like "escort" or "accompany", but another option is to just use multiple words to describe the desired activity. That's commonly done.
    – TOOGAM
    Dec 21, 2015 at 9:44
  • @DarrelHoffman "Escort" is not a commonly used word any more, except when referring to prostitution. Most common, in my experience, is to actually state the mode of transportation. So, "May I walk you home?", "Want to share a taxi?", "May I ride [the subway] with you to your station?", "shall we ride [our bicycles] together as far as your house?", etc. People might use "escort", but in US English, it would sound a bit quaint. Of course, sometimes one desires to sound quaint, either to be charming or funny.
    – Todd Wilcox
    Dec 21, 2015 at 14:49
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Escort —to go with (someone or something) to give protection or guidance (Merriam-Webster)

Formally, an escort is either someone who goes with someone to protect them (as in a "police escort") or a man who accompanies a woman to a social event (usually used in more formal contexts, like a wedding). However, be aware that in common use, "an escort" is a woman paid to accompany a man and often (in fact, mostly, when used this way) a euphemism for a woman acting as a prostitute.

This doesn't stop the main definition from being valid and appropriate, but does lead to some snickering at, for example, an area university's "Late Night Escort Service Hotline", which you can call if you feel insecure walking around a part of campus at night, but sounds like it might provide some other service.

Anyway, if you offer to escort a woman home, in context, the traditional definition will be assumed. (The euphemistic meaning is rarely used as a verb.) It's also just fine to say "I'll walk you home". "I'll accompany you home" could also work, but to my ear has the possible implication that you plan to stay once you get there.

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  • Will this cause some negative sentiment given by the meaning of escort girl?
    – justhalf
    Dec 20, 2015 at 15:28
  • @justhalf I think I covered that in my answer already.
    – mattdm
    Dec 20, 2015 at 15:35
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    It should be noted that when escort is used as a verb, it almost never takes on the euphemistic meaning.
    – KRyan
    Dec 21, 2015 at 2:39
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    Native speaker, Canada, and "I'll walk you home" to me carries absolutely no suggestion of staying - it's the de-facto phrase used to mean exactly and only "to accompany in a gentlemanly manner for the purpose of providing a sense of safety".
    – J...
    Dec 21, 2015 at 12:29
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    @J... I agree and don't think I said otherwise.
    – mattdm
    Dec 21, 2015 at 13:16
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(I'm not a native speaker of English, so I turned to dictionaries)

Damkerng's walk <somebody> home seems to be a great option.

Thanks to his suggestion, I recalled "I'll see you home", built along the same lines but allowing for the possibility that the girl will reach home not by foot but, say, by train or tram.

This phrase has been in use for a long time:

The fair was over, night was come,
The lad was somewhat mellow,
Says he, 'my dear, I'll see you home',
I thanked the charming fellow.
We trudged along, the moon shone bright,
Says he, 'If you'll not tell-o,
I'll kiss you here by this good light',
Lord, what a charming fellow!
(The Agreeable Surprise, John O'Keeffe, 1795)

Another option (but see the comment by mattdm below):

I will accompany you.
Could you please accompany me?

There is also the old-fashioned term "chaperone", but that is usually applied to old dames accompanying ladies, not to men.

Yet another option:

come along - to accompany someone who leads the way.
asked me to come along on the trip

In cases like this, it's usually nice to google for synonyms. There are a number of thesaurus sites on the web. Here's a thesaurus entry for accompany.

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    I would avoid "accompany", because, while technically fine, asking someone to accompany you home (to my ear) has the possible implication of inviting them to come in, have some coffee, and perhaps spend the night.
    – mattdm
    Dec 19, 2015 at 12:18
  • @mattdm - thank you! I moved those two words lower and included a mention of your comment. Is come along okay? I also noticed that "Could you accompany me to.." is mentioned as a stock phrase used by police when inviting someone to come for a questioning.
    – CowperKettle
    Dec 19, 2015 at 12:28
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    I think you'd still "walk someone home" even if you were going by train, to be honest.
    – Patrick Stevens
    Dec 19, 2015 at 23:55
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Accompany: to provide company, to be an escort. (e.g. "I will accompany you," "Could you please accompany me.")

Another word is chaperone: to accompany and look after or supervise. Traditionally, a chaperone was an older woman who accompanied a younger woman when in public. However, the word has evolved to generally refer to accompanying a person or a group of people in general1, usually by a "protective" figure (e.g. a teacher or adult supervising some children.)

It works nicely with your first example ("I will chaperone you."), but escort may be a better word for the second sentence ("Could you please escort me.")

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