hermit

American  

[hur-mit] / ˈhɜr mɪt /

noun

1. a person who has withdrawn to a solitary place for a life of religious seclusion.

   Synonyms:

   cenobite, anchorite, monastic, eremite

2. any person living in seclusion; recluse.

3. Zoology. an animal of solitary habits.

4. Ornithology. any of numerous hummingbirds of the genera Glaucis and Phaethornis, having curved bills and dull-colored rather than iridescent plumage.

5. a spiced molasses cookie often containing raisins or nuts.

6. Obsolete. a beadsman.

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hermit British  

/ ˈhɜːmɪt /

noun

1. one of the early Christian recluses

2. any person living in solitude

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Other Word Forms

• hermit-like
  adjective
• hermitic
  adjective
• hermitical
  adjective
• hermitically
  adverb
• hermitish
  adjective
• hermitlike
  adjective
• hermitry
  noun
• hermitship
  noun
• unhermitic
  adjective
• unhermitical
  adjective
• unhermitically
  adverb

Etymology

Origin of hermit

1175–1225; Middle English ermite, hermite, heremite < Old French < Late Latin erēmīta < Greek erēmītḗs living in a desert, equivalent to erḗm ( ia ) desert (derivative of erêmos desolate) + -ītēs -ite ¹

Explanation

You hear about hermits more often than you meet one, and that’s because a hermit is someone who likes to be alone, far from people, sometimes because of their religious beliefs or maybe because they simply want some privacy. Hermits like living solo, alone in the woods, up in a mountain, or sometimes they live in a city without hardly ever leaving their apartment. The root of the word is the Greek erēmos, meaning “solitary.” A life of solitude isn’t for everyone, but a hermit chooses it for any number of reasons. For example, being able to honor their religious beliefs more fully or hating all of humanity are two possible motivations to become a hermit.

Example Sentences

Wildlife enthusiast Fred, who had just turned six at the time of filming in the summer and autumn of 2024, enjoyed spotting scorpions, snakes, monkeys, monitor lizards, eagles, hermit crabs, geckos and flying lemurs.

From BBC • Feb. 14, 2026

Much less familiar is Guglielmo of Malavalle, a twelfth century hermit venerated by the Augustinians for defeating a dragon using a simple wooden staff shaped like a pitchfork.

From Science Daily • Feb. 2, 2026

And there's a deep-sea hermit crab, living not inside a shell, but a sea star the team can't immediately identify.

From Barron's • Jan. 26, 2026

The West Hollywood City Council this week passed an ordinance prohibiting the sale of rabbits, amphibians, arachnids, birds, fish, reptiles and hermit crabs beginning on May 1, 2026.

From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 18, 2025

Sadly he climbed out of the barrel, like a hermit crab being evicted from a favorite shell.

From "The Long-Lost Home" by Maryrose Wood

Related Words

• recluse