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messenger

American  
[mes-uhn-jer] / ˈmɛs ən dʒər /

noun

  1. a person who carries a message or goes on an errand for another, especially as a matter of duty or business.

    Synonyms:
    courier, bearer

  2. a person employed to convey official dispatches or to go on other official or special errands.

    a bank messenger.

  3. Nautical.

    1. a rope or chain made into an endless belt to pull on an anchor cable or to drive machinery from some power source, as a capstan or winch.

    2. a light line by which a heavier line, as a hawser, can be pulled across a gap between a ship and a pier, a buoy, another ship, etc.

  4. Oceanography. a brass weight sent down a line to actuate a Nansen bottle or other oceanographic instrument.

  5. Archaic. a herald, forerunner, or harbinger.

verb (used with object)

  1. to send by messenger.

messenger British  
/ ˈmɛsɪndʒə /

noun

  1. a person who takes messages from one person or group to another or others

  2. a person who runs errands or is employed to run errands

  3. a carrier of official dispatches; courier

  4. nautical

    1. a light line used to haul in a heavy rope

    2. an endless belt of chain, rope, or cable, used on a powered winch to take off power

  5. archaic a herald

"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

Etymology

Origin of messenger

1175–1225; Middle English messager, messangere < Anglo-French; Old French messagier. See message, -er 2

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.

Dopamine is a chemical messenger that plays a critical role in controlling movement, as well as supporting memory, mood, and other essential functions.

From Science Daily • Feb. 20, 2026

"Max is an accessible alternative, a developing messenger, a national messenger. And it is an alternative available on the market for citizens," he said.

From Barron's • Feb. 12, 2026

The megapopular digital messenger Discord is inspiring a lot of, well, discord this week.

From Slate • Feb. 11, 2026

Yet, though Travis is a fatally flawed messenger, his analysis of the state of urban America has a disturbing ring of truth.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 6, 2026

Powell would pretend he was a messenger delivering important medicine from Seward’s doctor.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

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.