courier

American  

[kur-ee-er, koor-] / ˈkɜr i ər, ˈkʊər- /

noun

• couriers
  plural

1. a messenger, usually traveling in haste, bearing urgent news, important reports or packages, diplomatic messages, etc.

2. any means of carrying news, messages, etc., regularly.

3. the conveyance used by a courier, as an airplane or ship.

4. Chiefly British. a tour guide for a travel agency.

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courier British  

/ ˈkʊərɪə /

noun

1. a special messenger, esp one carrying diplomatic correspondence

2. a person who makes arrangements for or accompanies a group of travellers on a journey or tour

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verb

1. (tr) to send (a parcel, letter, etc) by courier

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• couriers
  plural

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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

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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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

courier couriers

He's a courier who agrees to deliver a package to a hospital in Raccoon City - a key location from the games.

From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026

It also offers courier services over short distances.

From Barron's ● Sep. 2, 2026

Regretting using a middleman for a courier service, however opportunistic you believe the company to be, is not — on the face of it — a good enough reason to cancel the charge.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 30, 2026

Her daughter arranged for a soldier to help bring her belongings to a courier.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

In Philadelphia, the FBI had picked up Harry Gold, who’d worked as Fuchs’s courier, delivering stolen bomb plans to the Soviets.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

It would also require Amazon to directly hire couriers who are currently employed by smaller firms that deliver its packages.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026

"Along with a network of others, McKelvie, Sanderson and Tracey operated as couriers," he added.

From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026

Additionally, the company said it now has more than 10 million global drivers and couriers, with active drivers up 21% from a year ago, despite higher gas prices.

From MarketWatch ● May 6, 2026

The National Security Agency also developed a behavioral profiling program, SKYNET, to identify Al Qaeda couriers in Afghanistan.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026

George, Charles, and at least one other enslaved man named John Fulton were trusted enough to serve as couriers, and they occasionally traveled alone back to the Hermitage with messages from Jackson.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

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