gentleman of fortune

American

noun

an adventurer.

Etymology

Origin of gentleman of fortune

First recorded in 1880–85

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In modern times many a gentleman of fortune has searched Cocos for pirates' spoils.

From Time Magazine Archive

Cathy is pledged to another; Heathcliff goes abroad and returns a sudden gentleman of fortune.

From Time Magazine Archive

He cast in his lot with a Dutch pirate-merchant, one De Ruyter, a highly cultured, sagacious gentleman of fortune who had fought for George Washington and was now, under Napoleon's tricolor, pillaging Britain's Indian trade.

From Time Magazine Archive

As befitted a young gentleman of fortune he occupied a front seat, price two shillings.

From A Hero of Romance by Marsh, Richard

He was a gentleman of fortune, and lived first in Roxbury.

From Poems of James Russell Lowell With biographical sketch by Nathan Haskell Dole by Lowell, James Russell

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023