cruiser

[kroo-zer]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cruiser ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a person or thing that cruises.

one of a class of warships of medium tonnage, designed for high speed and long cruising radius.

squad car.

a vessel, especially a power-driven one, intended for cruising.

cabin cruiser.

Also called timber cruiser. a person who estimates the value of the timber in a tract of forest.

Slang. a prostitute who walks the street soliciting customers.

Origin of cruiser

1670–80; < Dutch kruiser, equivalent to kruis(en) to cruise + -er -er¹

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

Related Words for cruiser

sailboat, racer, sloop, frigate, destroyer, corvette, battleship, submarine, gunboat, cutter, gallant, flirt, debaucher, lover, operator, cruiser, swinger, chaser, adulterer, yawl

Examples from the Web for cruiser

Contemporary Examples of cruiser

A cruiser shows up and eyes narrow and citizens often withdraw.
The Wildly Peaceful, Human, Almost Boring, Ultimately Great New York City Protests for Eric Garner
Mike Barnicle
December 8, 2014
With lights flashing, the cruiser arrived at the Blooming Grove State Police barracks in Pike County.
Killer Eric Frein Held in Murdered Cop’s Cuffs
Michael Daly
October 31, 2014
The USS Arleigh Burke, a destroyer, and USS Philippine Sea, a cruiser, launched a total of 47 Tomahawk missiles.
$70 Billion Stealth Jet Finally Flies in Its First War
Dave Majumdar
September 23, 2014
Churchill then decided to embark on a British cruiser, the Belfast, and watch the landings from offshore.
D-Day Historian Craig Symonds Talks About History’s Most Amazing Invasion
Marc Wortman
June 5, 2014
The goal is $50,000, which is the value of his 22-foot Seahawk cruiser.
Let's Fix David Henneberry's Boat
Ilana Glazer
April 22, 2013

Historical Examples of cruiser

She was a cruiser built in 1907 and having a displacement of 3,544 tons.
The Story of the Great War, Volume III (of VIII)
Various
Decatur soon returned with the French cruiser Le Croyable as a prize.
Harper's Young People, July 27, 1880
Various
Dr. Bird glanced at the fighting top of the cruiser and swore softly.
The Solar Magnet
Sterner St. Paul Meek
His dear friend, a felon, taken in open fight by a British cruiser!
Roland Cashel
Charles James Lever
De Robeck must give me a cruiser so that we may start for home to-morrow.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2
Ian Hamilton

British Dictionary definitions for cruiser

cruiser

noun

a high-speed, long-range warship of medium displacement, armed with medium calibre weapons or missiles

Also called: cabin cruiser a pleasure boat, esp one that is power-driven and has a cabin

any person or thing that cruises

boxing cruiserweightSee light heavyweight

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 cruiser

1670s, agent noun from cruise (v.), or, probably, borrowed from similar words in neighboring languages (e.g. Dutch kruiser, French croiseur), originally a warship built to cruise and protect commerce or chase hostile ships (but in 18c. often applied to privateers); meaning "one who cruises for sex partners" is from 1903, in later use mostly of homosexuals; as a boxing weight class, from 1920; meaning "police patrol car" is 1929, American English.