courier
Americannoun
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a messenger, usually traveling in haste, bearing urgent news, important reports or packages, diplomatic messages, etc.
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any means of carrying news, messages, etc., regularly.
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the conveyance used by a courier, as an airplane or ship.
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Chiefly British. a tour guide for a travel agency.
noun
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a special messenger, esp one carrying diplomatic correspondence
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a person who makes arrangements for or accompanies a group of travellers on a journey or tour
verb
Etymology
Origin of courier
1350–1400; < Middle French cour ( r ) ier < Italian corriere, equivalent to corr ( ere ) to run (< Latin currere ) + -iere < Latin -ārius -ary; replacing Middle English corour < Anglo-French cor ( i ) our, Old French coreor < Late Latin curritor runner; see current, -tor
Explanation
A courier is a person you trust with delivering important messages or packages. Let your mail carrier deliver your credit card bill and the form letter from the “Save the Orchids” foundation, but trust a courier with your book contract or birth certificate. Couriers are in a hurry. Do they saunter up your driveway the way a mail carrier does? No! Couriers are clearly on important business; they’re jogging. The word comes from a Latin word, currere, meaning “to run.” Nowadays, you might see couriers on bicycles, however, weaving in and out of traffic to deliver your messages on time.
Vocabulary lists containing courier
Make a Run for It: Cur, Curs
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 14–18
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"Macbeth": Act 1 Scene 7
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
After the ancient Greeks won the historic Battle of Marathon, a courier ran 25 miles to Athens to deliver the good news and, according to legend, dropped dead.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 24, 2026
She was also provided a bogus but "realistic sounding" crime reference number, and told to confirm her address for the courier.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2026
But the courier was sent home after a Customs and Border Protection agent stopped him at the Miami airport and got the letter.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 16, 2026
They hold moisture, yes — but they also carry spice into the interior like a well-trained courier.
From Salon • Mar. 11, 2026
“We’ve travelled about. Mr. Ratchett wanted to see the world. He was hampered by knowing no languages. I acted more as a courier than as a secretary. It was a pleasant life.”
From "Murder on the Orient Express" by Agatha Christie
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
