Passenger
noun, verb, slang ·Common ·High school level
Definitions
- 1 One who rides or travels in a vehicle, but who does not operate it and is not a member of the crew.
"It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy."
- 2 a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc.) who is not operating it wordnet
- 3 Somebody in a team who does not do their fair share of the work. UK, informal
- 4 A young hunting bird that can fly and is taken while it is still in its first year.
- 5 A migratory bird, a bird of passage. obsolete
"Meander, thou my faithfull Counſellor, Declare the cauſe of my conceiued griefe, Which is (God knowes) about that Tamburlaine: That like a Foxe in midſt of harueſt time, Dooth pray vppon my flockes of Passengers: […]"
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 A passer-by; a wayfarer. obsolete
"These are my mates, that make their wills their law, / Have some unhappy passenger in chase."
- 7 A ship carrying passengers, a ferryboat. obsolete
- 8 A moth, Dysgonia algira
- 9 Any of the individual warheads of a MIRV missile.
- 1 To ride as a passenger in a vehicle. intransitive
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"There is a limit of two pieces of luggage for each passenger."
Etymology
From Old French passagier with intrusive n (see etymology of messenger).
Related phrases
More for "passenger"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.