vagrant

American  

[vey-gruhnt] / ˈveɪ grənt /

noun

1. a person who wanders about idly and has no permanent home or employment; vagabond; tramp.

2. Law. an idle person without visible means of support, as a tramp or beggar.

3. a person who wanders from place to place; wanderer; rover.

4. wandering idly without a permanent home or employment; living in vagabondage.

   vagrant beggars.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a vagrant.

   the vagrant life.

2. wandering or roaming from place to place; nomadic.

3. (of plants) straggling in growth.

4. not fixed or settled, especially in course; moving hither and thither.

   a vagrant leaf blown by the wind.

vagrant British  

/ ˈveɪɡrənt /

noun

1. a person of no settled abode, income, or job; tramp

2. a migratory animal that is off course

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adjective

1. wandering about; nomadic

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of a vagrant or vagabond

3. moving in an erratic fashion, without aim or purpose; wayward

4. (of plants) showing uncontrolled or straggling growth

Related Words

Vagrant, vagabond describe an idle, disreputable person who lacks a fixed abode. Vagrant suggests a tramp, a person with no settled abode or livelihood, an idle and disorderly person: picked up by police as a vagrant. Vagabond especially emphasizes the idea of worthless living, often by trickery, thieving, or other disreputable means: Actors were once classed with rogues and vagabonds.

Other Word Forms

• nonvagrant
  adjective
• nonvagrantly
  adverb
• nonvagrantness
  noun
• unvagrant
  adjective
• unvagrantly
  adverb
• unvagrantness
  noun
• vagrantly
  adverb
• vagrantness
  noun

Etymology

Origin of vagrant

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English vagaraunt, apparently present participle of unattested Anglo-French vagrer, perhaps from unattested Middle English vagren, blend of vagen (from Latin vagārī “to wander”) and unattested walcren (becoming Old French wa(u)crer ), equivalent to walc- ( see walk) + -r- frequentative suffix + -en infinitive suffix

Explanation

A vagrant is someone who is homeless and poor and may wander from place to place. In fiction a vagrant often is a criminal, but a real-life vagrant might just be a person who has lost a job and family and lives off the streets with help from charity. Many synonyms for vagrant imply laziness and criminal behavior, such as "bum," "tramp," and "vagabond," and some vagrants do make money through crime. Often, though, a vagrant is a down-on-his-luck person who has lost work, family, or health and lives on the streets. European roots for vagrant point to "wander" or "wander about," and a vagrant is a wanderer — a man or woman without a place to call home.

Example Sentences

"Vagrant walruses are not a new thing, what is new is social media, once they appear in one place the word goes round very quickly, and so everybody knows about it," Bain explained.

From BBC • Apr. 28, 2026

Another delayed work, Mona Mansour’s “The Vagrant Trilogy,” about Palestinians’ displacement, will be directed by Mark Wing-Davey and will now open in April 2022.

From New York Times • Aug. 12, 2021

L’Oursin’s Vagrant Wine Club was well-established by the time the pandemic began.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 3, 2021

Vagrant sisters work for crooked characters at a rock ‘n’ roll prison-farm.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2020

In all, he attended thirty-five meetings, giving addresses on the subjects of "Vagrant Children," "Free Schools," and "Public Grammar Schools."

From Egerton Ryerson and Education in Upper Canada by Putnam, J. Harold

Related Words

• itinerant
• nomadic
• peripatetic
• roving
• wandering
• wayfaring