cruise
verb (used without object)
to sail about on a pleasure trip.
cruise
1 American
[krooz]
/ kruz /
verb (used without object)
-
cruises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cruised,
past participle, past
-
cruising
present participle
-
to sail about on a pleasure trip.
-
to sail about, as a warship patrolling a body of water.
-
to travel about without a particular purpose or destination.
-
to fly, drive, or sail at a constant speed that permits maximum operating efficiency for sustained travel.
-
to travel at a moderately fast, easily controllable speed.
cruising along the highway enjoying the scenery.
-
to travel about slowly, looking for customers or for something demanding attention.
Taxis and police cars cruise in the downtown area.
-
to go or travel (often followed byover ).
Let's cruise over to my house after the concert.
-
Informal. to go about on the streets or in public areas in search of a sexual partner.
verb (used with object)
-
cruises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cruised,
past participle, past
-
cruising
present participle
-
to cruise in (a specified area).
patrol cars cruising the neighborhood; to cruise the Caribbean.
-
Informal.
-
to move slowly through or visit (a street, park, bar, etc.) in search of a sexual partner.
-
to make sexual overtures to; attempt to arouse the sexual interest of.
-
-
to inspect (a tract of forest) for the purpose of estimating lumber potential.
noun
-
cruises
plural
-
the act of cruising.
-
a pleasure voyage on a ship, usually with stops at various ports.
Cruise
2
American
[krooz]
/ kruz /
noun
cruise
1
British
/ kruːz /
verb
-
(intr) to make a trip by sea in a liner for pleasure, usually calling at a number of ports
-
to sail or travel over (a body of water) for pleasure in a yacht, cruiser, etc
-
(intr) to search for enemy vessels in a warship
-
(intr) (of a vehicle, aircraft, or vessel) to travel at a moderate and efficient speed
-
informal (intr) to search the streets or other public places for a sexual partner
noun
Cruise
2
British
/ kruːz /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cruisesimple
-
cruisessimple
-
have cruisedperfect
-
has cruisedperfect
-
am cruisingprogressive
-
are cruisingprogressive
-
is cruisingprogressive
-
have been cruisingperfect progressive
-
has been cruisingperfect progressive
Past
-
cruisedsimple
-
had cruisedperfect
-
was cruisingprogressive
-
were cruisingprogressive
-
had been cruisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cruise
1645–55; < Dutch kruisen to cross, cruise, derivative of kruis cross
Explanation
If your mom announces “We’re taking a cruise!” then pack your bags. A cruise is a vacation spent on a ship that sails the ocean, periodically stopping in ports for sightseeing. Cruise can also be a verb that describes sailing around aimlessly for fun. You might cruise the canals of Venice in a small boat. If you don’t live in Venice, you can still cruise — but you might do it in your car. Cruise can be used to describe a leisurely drive taken just for fun. You might cruise around the neighborhood on a Saturday with no real destination in mind. Cruise can also describe traveling easily at a moderate speed.
Vocabulary lists containing cruise
Greetings, World Traveler! — List 2
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List 4
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 1–January 7, 2022
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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.
See Examples For:
That summer, the couple cancelled a cruise that was due to depart from New York City and go through the Panama canal.
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
In any case, the daylong cruise served its purpose of resetting the week and reconnecting the friends.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
Now, nearly five years after the cruise operator’s first ship returned to sea, Bernstein said he and other Carnival insiders have delivered.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
TUI had issued a profit warning in April, weeks after the Mideast war forced it to repatriate 10,000 travellers, including 5,000 people stuck on two cruise ships in the Gulf.
From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026
I ran to the curb and grabbed a taxi that was just letting out a family of cruise passengers.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
It was the accessories at Jonathan Anderson’s first Cruise show for Dior that left an impression months after the last streetlamp was turned off at the base of the David Geffen Galleries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
And unless your name is Tom Cruise, those unforgettable moments are most likely brought to life by a stunt performer.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
Just hours before that, Beckham had become the first professional footballer to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, with actor Cruise once again by his side.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Tom Cruise as a sports agent whose idealism clashes with the industry’s cutthroat economics.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
“If Officer Cruise were sitting here,” Mrs. Carey says, “what would you say to him?”
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
David Porter, co-founder with his wife, Carol, of Roaming Boomers Travel Services, said bookings are up 20% this year, with most for cruises on small luxury ships.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
Meanwhile on the Rhine, some cargo vessels have been left stranded and river cruises have been cancelled.
From BBC ● Aug. 15, 2026
Some puzzles will have pieces containing real estate, others will have cruises and vacations.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 10, 2026
"Demand is strong across domestic parks and cruises," said Chief Financial Officer Hugh Johnston.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
She stares at this black car with tinted windows that cruises through the parking lot.
From "On the Come Up" by Angie Thomas
Sunrisers Leeds were bowled out for just 91 as Trent Rockets cruised to an emphatic eight-wicket win in the women's Hundred final at Lord's.
From BBC ● Aug. 16, 2026
He said he’d led a charmed life until his 40s, when a divorce unsettled his sense of having cruised along on luck, intelligence and hard work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
But he cruised into the Hall of Fame last December as the only person elected on an Era Committee ballot that included all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young Award-winner Roger Clemens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
England cruised to a 19-3 lead at half-time before Argentina, who wore replicas of the football team's 1986 World Cup kit, fought back in the second half.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
Killer whales cruised the open leads, blowing spouts of icy spray.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
Security was visibly heightened at the event, with police cruising the canals in motorboats.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
But then he was back to cruising, retiring 12 of the next 13 batters.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 19, 2026
Which is funny, because when I think about cruising, I don’t revisit the miserable 36 hours that norovirus confined us in our cabin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2026
So she and relatives of at least five other trapped people stood in the road where rescue teams kept cruising past, and blocked it, demanding attention.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
Morning after morning it happened this way — the two of them dovetailing at an intersection, and, without the slightest hitch in stride, cruising off together.
From "Maniac Magee" by Jerry Spinelli
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.
