tourist
Americannoun
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a person who travels for pleasure, usually sightseeing and staying in hotels
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( as modifier )
tourist attractions
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a person on an excursion or sightseeing tour
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a person travelling abroad as a member of a sports team that is playing a series of usually international matches
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Also called: tourist class. the lowest class of accommodation on a passenger ship
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tourist
Explanation
Someone who visits a city, town, or historic site just for the pleasure of exploring it can be described as a tourist. When you travel for fun, you're a tourist. Some local inhabitants of vacation destinations might have a negative image of obnoxious, camera-toting tourists, but really they're just travelers who are curious about different parts of the world. Beaches, amusement parks, castles, and big cities are all places you're likely to run into tourists. The term "tourist trap," or a place that exists only to take tourists' money, was first used in 1939 by the novelist Graham Greene.
Vocabulary lists containing tourist
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 21–August 27, 2021
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Travel
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 5–February 11, 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:
Both countries saw devastating fires, threatening cities and tourist hotspots.
From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026
The blast happened in the Plaka area of the Greek capital, a neighbourhood close to tourist sites such as the Acropolis, with local media reporting the building housed a holiday rental.
From BBC ● Sep. 26, 2026
The country’s Destination Thailand visa is a five-year, multiple-entry tourist visa that permits a stay of up to 180 days per entry.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 22, 2026
The German woman — forced to leave after her tourist visa expires — is gone and the bustling restaurant quiet again.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 22, 2026
The exact spot where Aphrodite was born of the foam could be visited by any ancient tourist; it was just offshore from the island of Cythera.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
She encountered beaches typically teeming with tourists that were spookily empty, and fishermen unable to work because they lacked gasoline to go to sea.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
American tourists have long overlooked the smallest country in Africa, with no direct flights from the U.S.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 30, 2026
The UK government said on Tuesday that national museums would remain free for foreign visitors, after previously floating the idea of charging tourists an entry fee to buoy the cash-strapped sector.
From Barron's ● Sep. 29, 2026
The tourists, impressive in setting up this decider on Thursday, were poor here.
From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026
“I thought we’d let it hang for a few days. Keep the tourists off the beach,” said Sookie.
From "The Line Tender" by Kate Allen
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.
