Showing results for "stranger"

• comparative of strange.

stranger

American  

[streyn-jer] / ˈstreɪn dʒər /

noun

• strangers
  plural

1. a person with whom one has had no personal acquaintance.

   He is a perfect stranger to me.

   Antonyms:

   acquaintance

2. a newcomer in a place or locality.

   a stranger in town.

3. an outsider.

   They want no strangers in on the club meetings.

4. a person who is unacquainted with or unaccustomed to something (usually followed byto ).

   He is no stranger to poverty.

5. a person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like, as a visitor or guest.

   Our town shows hospitality to strangers.

6. Law. one not privy or party to an act, proceeding, etc.

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stranger British  

/ ˈstreɪndʒə /

noun

1. any person whom one does not know

2. a person who is new to a particular locality, from another region, town, etc

3. a guest or visitor

4. (foll by to) a person who is unfamiliar (with) or new (to) something

   he is no stranger to computers

5. law a person who is neither party nor privy to a transaction

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Synonym Usage

Stranger, foreigner both refer to someone regarded as outside of or distinct from a particular group. Stranger may apply to one who does not belong to some group—social, professional, national, etc.—or may apply to a person with whom one is not acquainted. Foreigner emphasizes a difference in language, customs, and background.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• strangerlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• strangers
  plural

Etymology

Origin of stranger

1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French estrangier, equivalent to estrange strange + -ier -ier ²

Explanation

A stranger is someone you don't know or who doesn't belong in a specific place. Parents tell their kids, "Don't talk to strangers." That's because strangers are people they don't know, who could be dangerous. Just like strange things are odd or weird, a stranger is unknown and therefore potentially scary. Also, anyone out of place can be considered a stranger. A fireman in a police station is a stranger, and a mascot in a scientific lab is a stranger. Either type of stranger is likely to make someone say, "Who's that?"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

stranger strangers

“Frozen III,” meanwhile, will see Anna and Kristoff finally get married before the sisters meet a mysterious stranger who also wields ice magic.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Nine-year-old Louis was given a pair of glasses by a stranger and says he "feels really lucky"

From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026

I even watched him go outside to help a stranger whose car had broken down in the middle of the road.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

When she’s youthful, Sophie catches the eye of a handsome, richly dressed stranger who gallantly escorts her away from two men harassing her on the street.

From Salon ● Aug. 4, 2026

Even a stranger in a parking lot knew, and I didn’t.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy

"So this finding suggests that happy faces, even those of strangers have a positive value for dogs."

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

It’s even better if you build them between two strangers that don’t know each other, that now have commonality that has nothing to do with you.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026

What information can strangers find out about me at the click of a button?

From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026

And it is still, for me and for the strangers arriving on its shore, the difference between drowning and being born.

From Salon ● Aug. 5, 2026

I cannot imagine strangers coming into my room.

From "The Brightwood Code" by Monica Hesse

Related Words

• alien
• foreigner
• guest
• immigrant
• intruder
• newcomer
• outsider
• visitor