Robinson Crusoe

[ kroo-soh ]

noun
  1. (in a novel by Defoe) a mariner of York who is shipwrecked and lives adventurously for years on a small island.

  2. (italics) the novel itself (1719).

Words Nearby Robinson Crusoe

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use Robinson Crusoe in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe

noun
  1. the hero of Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe (1719), who survived being shipwrecked on a desert island

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe

(1719) A novel by the English author Daniel Defoe. Robinson Crusoe, an English sailor, is shipwrecked and cast ashore alone on an uninhabited island. With great ingenuity and energy, Crusoe sets out to civilize his surroundings: he clothes himself, grows crops, and builds and furnishes a house. Eventually, he has the company of his servant, Friday, a man he has saved from cannibals. Crusoe is finally rescued after spending twenty-eight years on the island.

Notes for Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe has come to symbolize a person who has the strength and resourcefulness to thrive in isolation.

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.