traveler

American  

[trav-uh-ler, trav-ler] / ˈtræv ə lər, ˈtræv lər /

especially British, traveller

noun

1. a person or thing that travels.

2. a person who travels or has traveled in distant places or foreign lands.

3. traveling salesman.

4. part of a mechanism constructed to move in a fixed course.

5. Textiles. (in ring spinning) a small metal device that moves rapidly around the ring and guides the yarn onto the revolving bobbin.

6. Nautical.

   1. a metal ring or thimble fitted to move freely on a rope, spar, or rod.

   2. Also called horse.  the rope, spar, or rod itself.

7. Theater. Also traveler curtain. a transverse curtain opened by being drawn from both sides of the proscenium.

8. (often initial capital letter) a member of any of a number of traditionally itinerant peoples of the British Isles and other English-speaking areas, including, in addition to people of Romani origin, Indigenous groups such as the speakers of Shelta.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nontraveler
  noun

Etymology

Origin of traveler

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English travaillour; see travel, -er ¹

Explanation

If you take frequent trips across the country or around the world, you are a traveler. Take a plane to Mexico, and all the other passengers are travelers, just like you. Some people travel often, for work or fun, and they are travelers. Even if you're leaving your hometown for the very first time, you're considered a traveler while you are traveling. The trick to this word is that it sounds like it should have two Ls (and in Canada and the U.K., it's spelled traveller), but in the U.S. there's only one.

Example Sentences

A US State Department official alleged to AFP that the referee was "associated with suspected members of terrorist organizations," therefore "making the traveler ineligible for admission to the United States."

From Barron's • Jun. 10, 2026

“During processing, the traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility,” CBP said in a statement.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 9, 2026

The other time traveler is the engine: a naturally aspirated, 2.0-liter in-line four.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 23, 2026

Another 2025 paper called for closer collaboration between travel medicine and tourism, reflecting a growing interest in how vacations, health risks, preventive care, and traveler well being overlap.

From Science Daily • May 4, 2026

He took a job as a traveler for a book publisher, assigned to sell a single book throughout northwestern Illinois.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson

Related Words

• adventurer
• commuter
• hiker
• migrant
• passenger
• pilgrim
• sailor
• tourist