vagabond

[vag-uh-bond]

adjective

1. wandering from place to place without any settled home; nomadic.

   a vagabond tribe.

2. leading an unsettled or carefree life.

3. disreputable; worthless; shiftless.

4. of, relating to, or characteristic of a vagabond.

   vagabond habits.

5. having an uncertain or irregular course or direction.

   a vagabond voyage.

noun

1. a person, usually without a permanent home, who wanders from place to place; nomad.

2. an idle wanderer without a permanent home or visible means of support; tramp; vagrant.

   Synonyms: loafer, hobo

3. a carefree, worthless, or irresponsible person; rogue.

   Synonyms: idler, knave

vagabond

/ ˈvæɡəˌbɒnd /

noun

1. a person with no fixed home

2. an idle wandering beggar or thief

3. (modifier) of or like a vagabond; shiftless or idle

Other Word Forms

• vagabondish adjective
• vagabondism noun
• vagabondage noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of vagabond¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English vagabound (from Old French vagabond ), from Late Latin vagābundus “wandering, vagrant,” equivalent to Latin vagā(rī) “to wander” + -bundus adjective suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of vagabond¹

C15: from Latin vagābundus wandering, from vagārī to roam, from vagus _vague

Synonym Study

See vagrant.

Example Sentences

The area drew a scruffy mix of loggers and dockhands, and Skid Row eventually became shorthand for any part of a city where drunks and vagabonds gathered.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

“The door was always open, for surfers, people on their way from different countries, vagabonds traveling through that he felt a kindred spirit with,” Proctor recalled.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

A friend unexpectedly hosted a vagabond queen who birthed a litter in their place.

Read more on Salon

Briones, then a student of Ruizpalacios’ acting courses, had a much smaller role as the immigrant restaurant owner demanding his missing funds, and later as a vagabond who wanders into the kitchen.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

They’re defrocking the Mets down to their vagabond shoes that are longing to ... oh, forget it, one shouldn’t need to crib from a corny song to describe what is happening here.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• wanderer