What does "cruise" mean?
A sea or lake voyage, especially one taken for pleasure.
Cruise
/kɹuːz/ name, noun, verb, slang
name, noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A sea or lake voyage, especially one taken for pleasure.
- Grammar: cruise is listed as name, noun, verb, slang.
- Nearest alternatives: sail, aeroplane, airlift, airplane.
- Useful contrasts: stalling maneuver, climb phase, commute.
- Usage evidence: The prize money enabled me to go on a world cruise.
How to use "cruise"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "cruise" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "cruise" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "cruise" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "cruise" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "cruise" is acting as name, noun, verb, slang in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "sail" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "cruise", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A sea or lake voyage, especially one taken for pleasure.
"Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair."
- 2 A small cup; cruse.
"And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die."
- 3 an ocean trip taken for pleasure wordnet
- 4 Portion of aircraft travel at a constant airspeed and altitude between ascent and descent phases.
- 5 A period spent in the Marine Corps. US, informal
"I ended my cruise of four years in the Marine Corps at the first Officers' Training Camp for enlisted men at Quantico […]"
Show 2 more definitions
- 6 A car enthusiasts' event where they drive their vehicles in a group.
"Near-synonym: car show"
- 7 A period of reducing the dosage of PEDs instead of cycling them off as opposed to a full-dosed cycle (blast). slang
Verb
- 1 To sail about, especially for pleasure. intransitive
"He and Gerald usually challenged the rollers in a sponson canoe when Gerald was there for the weekend; or, when Lansing came down, the two took long swims seaward or cruised about in Gerald's dory, clad in their swimming-suits; and Selwyn's youth became renewed in a manner almost ridiculous,[…]."
- 2 sail or travel about for pleasure, relaxation, or sightseeing wordnet
- 3 To travel at constant speed for maximum operating efficiency. intransitive
- 4 travel at a moderate speed wordnet
- 5 To move about an area leisurely in the hope of discovering something, or looking for custom. transitive
Show 9 more definitions
- 6 drive around aimlessly but ostentatiously and at leisure wordnet
- 7 To inspect (forest land) for the purpose of estimating the quantity of lumber it will yield. ambitransitive
- 8 look for a sexual partner in a public place wordnet
- 9 To actively seek a romantic partner or casual sexual partner by moving about a particular area; to troll. ambitransitive, colloquial
- 10 To attempt to pick up as a casual sexual partner; hit on colloquial, transitive
"1970-1975, Lou Sullivan, personal diary, quoted in 2019, Ellis Martin, Zach Ozma (editors), We Both Laughed In Pleasure Lot of not too bad looking boys there but when M came in I knew right then: him. Very thin & feminine, brown hair fluffed around his sharp featured face. So I began cruising him."
- 11 To walk while holding on to an object (stage in development of ambulation, typically occurring at 10 months). intransitive
- 12 To win easily and convincingly. intransitive
"Germany cruised to a World Cup victory over the short-handed Australians."
- 13 To take part in a cruise (car enthusiasts' event where they drive their vehicles in a group). intransitive
- 14 To have a period of reducing the dosage of PEDs instead of cycling them off as opposed to going through a full-dosed cycle (blast). slang
"blast and cruise"
Proper Noun
- 1 A surname from Anglo-Norman.
Antonyms
Example
"The prize money enabled me to go on a world cruise."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "cruise"?
Common synonyms include: sail, aeroplane, airlift, airplane, balloon, be airborne.
How do you use "cruise" in a sentence?
The prize money enabled me to go on a world cruise.
How do you pronounce "cruise"?
Pronounced /kɹuːz/.
Etymology
Borrowed from Dutch kruisen (“cross, sail around”), from kruis (“cross”), from Middle Dutch cruce, from Latin crux.