passenger

American  

[pas-uhn-jer] / ˈpæs ən dʒər /

noun

• passengers
  plural

1. a person who is traveling in an automobile, bus, train, airplane, or other conveyance, especially one who is not the driver, pilot, or the like.

2. a wayfarer; traveler.

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passenger British  

/ ˈpæsɪndʒə /

noun

1. 1. a person travelling in a car, train, boat, etc, not driven by him

   2. ( as modifier )

      a passenger seat

2. a member of a group or team who is a burden on the others through not participating fully in the work

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nonpassenger
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• passengers
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of passenger

1300–50; Middle English passager < Middle French, noun use of passag ( i ) er (adj.) passing, temporary; see passage ¹, -ier ²; for -n- cf. messenger, harbinger, scavenger, popinjay

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Explanation

A passenger is a person who rides in a vehicle. If you grab a ride home from school with your best friend, you are a passenger in her car. Everyone riding in a train, plane, bus, or any other vehicle is a passenger — except the driver, pilot, or crew. A passenger's only job is to ride along. In the fourteenth century, a passenger was simply a "passer-by," from the Old French passagier, "passing, fleeting, or traveling." The first instance of the modern use was recorded in the early 1500s.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

passenger passengers

He unlatched himself so he could briefly get up and hand the bag to the sick passenger, who promptly vomited in it.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

Three different rail services operate through the tunnel - the Eurostar, a passenger train that begins in London and goes to several European destinations, freight trains which transport goods and Le Shuttle, which transports vehicles.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

Retail sales of passenger cars in China fell 28.0% in September from a year earlier, as the traditional peak season failed to bring cheer.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Delta said in a statement to Variety that it has “zero tolerance for unruly or unlawful behavior,” adding that passenger and crew safety is its priority.

From Salon ● Oct. 12, 2026

It is a passenger ship, not a navy vessel.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Many of the passengers interviewed for this article said they’ve found airlines like Southwest and Frontier to be far better than legacy carriers when it comes to barf-bag availability.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2026

A bus has hit a stationary freight train near the French entrance to the Channel Tunnel, injuring the driver and 18 passengers, French authorities say.

From BBC ● Oct. 15, 2026

It nonetheless hit a record of 8.2 million passengers during the quarter.

From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026

Saudia previously confirmed no passengers were on board the aircraft at the time.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026

The next night Seidel and a fellow digger, a young man named Heinz Jercha, crawled back to the apartment house to meet the next group of passengers.

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

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Related Words

• commuter
• customer
• fare
• patron
• pilgrim
• rider
• tourist
• traveler

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