What does "traveller" mean?
One who travels, especially to distant lands.
Traveller
/ˈtɹævəlɚ/ noun
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: One who travels, especially to distant lands.
- Grammar: traveller is listed as noun.
- Nearest alternatives: wanderer, wayfarer, arrival, bird of passage.
- Useful contrasts: homebody, resident, stayer.
- Usage evidence: I am just a traveller who seeks the purity of the soul.
How to use "traveller"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "traveller" 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 "traveller" 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 "traveller" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "traveller" 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 "traveller" is acting as noun 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 "wanderer" 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 "traveller", 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 One who travels, especially to distant lands.
"They were faire Ladies, till they fondly ſtriu’d / With th’Heliconian maides for mayſtery; / Of whom they ouer-comen, were depriu’d / Of their proud beautie, and th’one moyity / Transform’d to fiſh, for their bold ſurquedry, / But th’vpper halfe their hew retayned ſtill, / And their ſweet skill in wonted melody; / Which euer after they abuſd to ill, / T’allure weake traueillers, whom gotten they did kill."
- 2 Ellipsis of Irish Traveller, a member of a nomadic ethnic minority in Ireland. Ireland, abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis
"The auctioneer said he had no animus against Travellers but that some headstones verged on “monstrous”."
- 3 a person who changes location wordnet
- 4 A salesman who travels from place to place on behalf of a company. dated
- 5 A member of a nomadic ethnic minority in Norway.
Show 8 more definitions
- 6 Someone who lives (particularly in the UK) in a caravan, bus or other vehicle rather than a fixed abode. British
- 7 Alternative letter-case form of Traveller. Ireland, alt-of
"It provoked criticism for its portrayal of a woman who leaves her marriage for life with a solitary traveler. Irish women did not do those sorts of things, the audiences felt (although the plot came from a story told to Synge on Inis Meain)."
- 8 A list and record of instructions that follows a part in a manufacturing process.
- 9 One of the wires connecting the two members of a pair of three-way switches.
- 10 A metal ring that moves freely on part of a ship’s rigging.
- 11 A rail or track for a sliding curtain.
"That would detract from the austerity of Rudkin's study, and a curtain on a traveler is always slid across the stage […]"
- 12 A sheet of paper that is circulated with the board of cards, on which players record their scores.
"At the conclusion of play, the scores from all the travelers get entered into a computer."
- 13 A styrofoam cup filled with liquor and usually ice, to be taken away from a place. US
"Nowhere else in the world had I seen such gigantic measures of liquor poured, such widespread enthusiasm for Bloodies and Mimosas on weekend mornings, or such firm insistence on giving sixteen-ounce Styrofoam cups loaded with iced liquor to guests leaving a party, so they might have a "traveler" for the drive home. At a bar in Yazoo City, the bartender asked me if I wanted to "go tall" with my bourbon on the rocks. I didn't know what he meant, but it sounded encouraging. "Sure," I said, "Let's go tall." He filled up a pint glass with ice. Then he filled it to the brim with bourbon. When I got up to leave with about half the drink gone, he poured the rest of it into a Styrofoam cup, assuming I would want a traveler."
Example
"I am just a traveller who seeks the purity of the soul."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "traveller"?
Common synonyms include: wanderer, wayfarer, arrival, bird of passage, fare, gadabout.
How do you use "traveller" in a sentence?
I am just a traveller who seeks the purity of the soul.
How do you pronounce "traveller"?
Pronounced /ˈtɹævəlɚ/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English traveler, travelour, travailere, travailour (“worker", also "traveller”), equivalent to travel + -er. Compare Anglo-Norman travailur, travailour, Old French travailleor, travelleeur, travelier.
Etymology 2
From traveller.