a person who walks or travels about.
(initial capital letter) a member of the Aristotelian school.
itinerant
employed in two or more educational establishments and travelling from one to another
a peripatetic football coach
1400–50; late Middle English < Latin peripatēticus < Greek peripatētikós of Aristotle and his school, literally, walking about, equivalent to peripatē- (verbid stem of peripateîn to walk about, equivalent to peri- peri- + pateîn to walk; akin to path ) + -tikos -tic
If you're reading this on a treadmill or while taking a walk, you may know about the peripatetic, or walking, philosopher Aristotle, who taught while strolling with his students. Or, maybe you just like being a peripatetic, a walking wanderer. Peri- is the Greek word for "around," and peripatetic is an adjective that describes someone who likes to walk or travel around. Peripatetic is also a noun for a person who travels from one place to another or moves around a lot. If you walk in a circle, you are peripatetic, or walking, but you aren’t a peripatetic, or wanderer, unless you actually go somewhere.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
It’s just a day in the life of the peripatetic wolf, who was born in far Northeastern California in 2023.
From Los Angeles Times • May 18, 2026
When Covid hit in 2020, she was working as a full-time peripatetic music teacher, and as learning moved online, she realised she was no longer tied to the UK.
From BBC • Mar. 5, 2026
The peripatetic, polarizing basketball coach steers St. John’s to its first Sweet 16 in 27 seasons.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 22, 2026
According to Elaine Godfrey of the Atlantic, that relationship is the one "throughline" in her politically peripatetic career.
From Salon • Jan. 27, 2025
Fischer’s assurances notwithstanding, his peripatetic alpine career was rough on his family.
From "Into Thin Air" by Jon Krakauer
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.
