itinerant
Americanadjective
-
traveling from place to place, especially on a circuit, as a minister, judge, or sales representative; itinerating; journeying.
- Antonyms:
- settled
-
characterized by such traveling.
itinerant preaching.
-
working in one place for a comparatively short time and then moving on to work in another place, usually as a physical or outdoor laborer; characterized by alternating periods of working and wandering.
an itinerant farm hand.
noun
-
a person who alternates between working and wandering.
-
a person who travels from place to place, especially for duty or business.
adjective
-
itinerating
-
working for a short time in various places, esp as a casual labourer
noun
Other Word Forms
- itinerantly adverb
- unitinerant adjective
Etymology
Origin of itinerant
1560–70; < Late Latin itinerant- (stem of itinerāns ), present participle of itinerārī to journey, equivalent to itiner- (stem of iter ) journey ( iter ) + -ant- -ant
Explanation
An itinerant is a person who moves from place to place, typically for work, like the itinerant preacher who moves to a new community every few years. Itinerant is pronounced "eye-TIN-er-ant." It might remind you of itinerary, the traveler's schedule that lists flights, hotel check-in times, and other plans. It's no surprise that both words come from the Latin word itinerare, meaning "to travel." Itinerant was first used in the 16th century to describe circuit judges who traveled to faraway courtrooms. Today, almost anyone can be an itinerant.
Vocabulary lists containing itinerant
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
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"Once Upon a Time," Vocabulary from the short story
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "I"
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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.
Even by the standards of the world’s foremost itinerant minister, Rev. Graham was puzzled by the invitation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026
Ms. Gerson takes her book’s title from the biblical story of the Exodus—“my father was a wandering Aramean”—to remind us of the itinerant past all humans share.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 7, 2026
Police have described the suspect as an "itinerant" worker who had travelled to Australia on multiple occasions between 2019 and 2024, and had addresses in the states of Victoria and New South Wales.
From BBC • Jan. 28, 2026
Hannah has earned her wisdom the hard way — by accepting her itinerant fate.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 24, 2025
McCandless was smallish with the hard, stringy physique of an itinerant laborer.
From "Into the Wild" by Jon Krakauer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
