cruiser
[kroo-zer]
- 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.
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Origin of cruiser
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Examples from the Web for cruiser
Contemporary Examples
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 GarnerMike Barnicle
December 8, 2014
With lights flashing, the cruiser arrived at the Blooming Grove State Police barracks in Pike County.
The USS Arleigh Burke, a destroyer, and USS Philippine Sea, a cruiser, launched a total of 47 Tomahawk missiles.
Churchill then decided to embark on a British cruiser, the Belfast, and watch the landings from offshore.
The goal is $50,000, which is the value of his 22-foot Seahawk cruiser.
Historical Examples
She was a cruiser built in 1907 and having a displacement of 3,544 tons.
Decatur soon returned with the French cruiser Le Croyable as a prize.
Dr. Bird glanced at the fighting top of the cruiser and swore softly.
The Solar MagnetSterner St. Paul Meek
His dear friend, a felon, taken in open fight by a British cruiser!
Roland CashelCharles James Lever
De Robeck must give me a cruiser so that we may start for home to-morrow.
Gallipoli Diary, Volume 2Ian Hamilton
cruiser
- 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
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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
n.
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.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper