bandit
[ ban-dit ]
/ ˈbæn dɪt /
noun, plural ban·dits or (Rare) ban·dit·ti [ban-dit-ee] /bænˈdɪt i/.
a robber, especially a member of a gang or marauding band.
an outlaw or highwayman.
Informal.
- a person who takes unfair advantage of others, as a merchant who overcharges; swindler; cheat.
- a vendor, cab driver, etc., who operates a business or works without a required license or permit, and without observing the usual rules or practices.
Military Informal. an enemy aircraft, especially an attacking fighter.
RELATED CONTENT
RELATED WORDS
raider, mobster, outlaw, hooligan, gangster, criminal, pirate, robber, marauder, hijacker, desperado, plunderer, crook, villain, racketeer, brigand, forager, pillager, ravager
Nearby words
- bandh,
- bandicoot,
- bandido,
- bandinelli,
- banding,
- bandito,
- banditry,
- banditti,
- bandjarmasin,
- bandjermasin
Idioms
make out like a bandit, Slang. to be extremely successful; profit greatly: The early investors in the company have made out like bandits.
Origin of bandit
1585–95; earlier bandetto, plural banditti < Italian banditi outlaws, plural of bandito proscribed, past participle of bandire banish, exile, announce publicly < Gothic bandwjan to make a sign, indicate (cf. band1) with v. suffix -ire < Latin -īre
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for bandit
bandit
/ (ˈbændɪt) /
noun plural -dits or -ditti (-ˈdɪtɪ)
a robber, esp a member of an armed gang; brigand
Word Origin for bandit
C16: from Italian bandito, literally: banished man, from bandire to proscribe, from bando edict, ban 1
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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bandit
1590s, from Italian bandito (plural banditi) "outlaw," past participle of bandire "proscribe, banish," from Vulgar Latin *bannire "to proclaim, proscribe," from Proto-Germanic *bann (see ban (v.)). *Bannire (or its Frankish cognate *bannjan) in Old French became banir-, which, with lengthened stem, became English banish.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper