courier

[ kur-ee-er, koo r- ]

/ ˈkɜr i ər, ˈkʊər- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR courier ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a messenger, usually traveling in haste, bearing urgent news, important reports or packages, diplomatic messages, etc.

any means of carrying news, messages, etc., regularly.

the conveyance used by a courier, as an airplane or ship.

Chiefly British. a tour guide for a travel agency.

Nearby words

Origin of courier

1350–1400; < Middle French cour(r)ier < Italian corriere, equivalent to corr(ere) to run (< Latin currere) + -iere < Latin -ārius -ary; replacing Middle English corour < Anglo-French cor(i)our, Old French coreor < Late Latin curritor runner; see current, -tor

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for courier

“Masters had connections with survivalists,” Grants Pass Daily Courier (PDF) reporter Edith Decker wrote in 2010.
The Godfather of Right-Wing Radio|Caitlin Dickson|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
For this, the courier can expect one to three years of prison time for the felony of “promoting prison contraband.”
This Anti-Heroin Drug Is Now King of the Jailhouse Drug Trade|Daniel Genis|July 17, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Looch is the editor-publisher of an internationally respected lefty newspaper called the Russian Courier.
This 1979 Novel Predicted Putin’s Invasion Of Crimea|Michael Weiss|May 18, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On Sunday, April 21, a full-page ad in The Post and Courier ran under the headline, “A Personal Message from Mark Sanford.”
Mark Sanford’s Formidable Opponent: Stephen Colbert’s Sister|Jack Bass|April 29, 2013|DAILY BEAST

The courier then leads the CIA agents to a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where Maya believes bin Laden is shacked up.
‘Zero Dark Thirty’ Doesn’t Promote Torture|Marlow Stern|December 11, 2012|DAILY BEAST
There the courier whirled the stern of the canoe into his grasp, and, unhurt, Dunvegan raised himself over it.
The Law of the North (Originally published as Empery)|Samuel Alexander White
A courier had been sent to recall Pappenheim, as the army without his force counted only 18,000 men.
Sweden|Victor Nilsson
I was just sending a courier to his command with a dispatch.
Robert Toombs|Pleasant A. Stovall
On the morning, when the courier brought the truth to Memel, Marianne was writing a letter to her friend Brentano.
Two Royal Foes|Eva Madden
From the North, by wire and courier, I received early intelligence of passing events.
Destruction and Reconstruction:|Richard Taylor

British Dictionary definitions for courier

courier

/ (ˈkʊərɪə) /

noun

a special messenger, esp one carrying diplomatic correspondence

a person who makes arrangements for or accompanies a group of travellers on a journey or tour

verb

(tr) to send (a parcel, letter, etc) by courier

Word Origin for courier

C16: from Old French courrier, from Old Latin corriere, from correre to run, from Latin currere

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for courier

courier

mid-14c., from Anglo-French courrier, from Old French coreor, ultimately an agent noun from Latin currere "to run" (see current (adj.)).

courier

noun

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Origin of courier

Examples from the Web for courier

British Dictionary definitions for courier

courier

noun

verb

Word Origin for courier

Word Origin and History for courier

courier