roadie

American  

[roh-dee] / ˈroʊ di /

noun

Slang.

1. a member of a crew for a traveling group of musicians or other entertainers, whose work usually includes the setting up of equipment.

---

roadie British  

/ ˈrəʊdɪ /

noun

1. informal a person who transports and sets up equipment for a band or group

---

Etymology

Origin of roadie

1965–70; road (from the idiom on the road ) + -ie; analogous to groupie

Example Sentences

As the roadie puts it in “Wayne’s World 2,” “Keith cannot be killed by conventional weapons.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 11, 2025

If Root is the drummer tapping out the beat in the England band, Foakes is the roadie, doing the hardest work for the least praise, but impossible to put on a show without.

From BBC • Feb. 23, 2024

A machine-learning neural network dubbed MAL in homage to the Beatles’ beloved roadie Mal Evans, the technology provides the capability for separating audio tracks into their component parts.

From Salon • Nov. 10, 2023

Following an opening DJ set by Questlove, Jagger pranced and prowled a stage much smaller than he’s used to, one that a roadie prepared for him by sprinkling powder on the floor.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 19, 2023

If Gene Johnson were to put on a black leather jacket, he could pass for a roadie with the Grateful Dead.

From "The Hot Zone" by Richard Preston