bandit

American  

[ban-dit] / ˈbæn dɪt /

noun

• bandits,
  plural
• banditti
  plural

1. a robber, especially a member of a gang or marauding band.

   Synonyms:

   desperado, brigand

2. an outlaw or highwayman.

   Synonyms:

   desperado, brigand

3. Informal.

   1. a person who takes unfair advantage of others, as a merchant who overcharges; swindler; cheat.

   2. 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.

4. Military Informal. an enemy aircraft, especially an attacking fighter.

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idioms

1. make out like a bandit, to be extremely successful; profit greatly.

   The early investors in the company have made out like bandits.

bandit British  

/ ˈbændɪt /

noun

1. a robber, esp a member of an armed gang; brigand

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• banditry
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bandits
  plural
• banditti
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of bandit

First recorded in 1585–95; earlier bandetto, plural banditti, from Italian banditi “outlaws,” plural of bandito “proscribed,” past participle of bandire “banish, exile, announce publicly,” from Gothic bandwjan “to make a sign, indicate” ( cf. band ¹) with verb suffix -ire, from Latin -īre

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Explanation

A bandit is a robber, thief, or outlaw. If you cover your face with a bandanna, jump on your horse, and rob the passengers on a train, you're a bandit. A bandit typically belongs to a gang of bandits who commit crimes in remote, lawless, or out-of-the-way places. A bus traveling through an isolated location that's not policed might be at risk for being attacked by bandits. The word bandit comes from the Italian bandito, "outlaw," from the Vulgar Latin bannire, "to proclaim or proscribe," by way of a Germanic root that's shared by ban.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bandit bandits banditti

In the bandit heartlands of north-west Nigeria, the number of incidents recorded by the international conflict monitoring group Acled rose 78% in the first half of this year compared to the same period last year.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

The country is also mired in multiple security crises -- from jihadists, non-ideological "bandit" gangs, farmers and herders fighting over land, and a simmering separatist conflict.

From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026

Bernthal, who plays Sonny, has his own wayward machismo and hapless sensitivity, the very qualities that made Al Pacino unforgettable in the role of the bungling bandit with a Catholic conscience.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 29, 2026

One sculpture transforms the European hero Robin Hood into an African bandit queen who raided slave traders and freed their captives.

From Salon ● Apr. 26, 2026

The bandit let out a howl and began hopping on one leg, which allowed me to snatch Aunt Kitty’s coin purse right from his hand.

From "The Detective's Assistant" by Kate Hannigan

Nigeria's battle with bandits is just one part of a more complex security situation facing the country.

From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026

The life of a superhero lends itself well to gallivanting through galaxies, battling space pirates and star bandits.

From Salon ● Jun. 27, 2026

The U.K. government has advised against nearly all travel to the Central African Republic, and Brown said he was warned about rebel fighters, bandits, poachers, Russian mercenaries, dengue fever and the Ebola virus.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 23, 2026

Traditional western dramas were more likely to depict vaqueros as bandits than hard-working ranch hands whose contributions were fundamental to the American West.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 23, 2026

This discovery ruined the reputation, up till then untarnished, of the volunteer explorers and mountain climbers, who from that day on were considered little better than a pack of bandits.

From "The House of the Spirits: A Novel" by Isabel Allende

There are gold mines and roving banditti; mules are branded, and dung is hauled to smoke out grasshoppers.

From New York Times ● Nov. 26, 2018

One internal British memo portrayed him after victory as demanding the runaways be returned "with all the grossness and ferocity of a captain of banditti".

From BBC ● Aug. 18, 2017

These ornate banditti are mountaineers of the tribe of Mati, and they guard their tribal Chief, Ahmed Bey Zogu, who is nominally President and actually Dictator of Albania.

From Time Magazine Archive

Romance abides there, not principally among banditti, but in the very air and infinitely varied scene.

From Time Magazine Archive

About this date the European powers began to deal more resolutely with the banditti of the islands, and their trade consequently became more precarious.

From Rob of the Bowl, Vol. I (of 2) A Legend of St. Inigoe's by John P. Kennedy

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Related Words

• criminal
• gangster
• hooligan
• marauder
• mobster
• outlaw
• pirate
• raider
• robber

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