motorist
Americannoun
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of motorist
Explanation
Motorist is another word for "driver." Motorists need to be aware of pedestrians and stay out of bike lanes. It's especially common to find the word motorists in news stories when they're talking about drivers as a collective group, like all the motorists in downtown Chicago or rural motorists on two-lane highways. Motorist first appeared in the late 19th century, around the time the earliest automobiles did, meaning "motor car driver." An alternative term that quickly became obsolete was motorneer.
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.
The mother of the motorist who found the children told Portuguese media that one of the boys said they had been blindfolded and told to look for a hidden toy.
From Barron's • May 23, 2026
A motorist found himself facing a £20,000 bill for missed toll payments after an apparent paperwork error.
From BBC • Feb. 13, 2026
A motorist, Darren Springer, 60, said he was driving south out of Death Valley when he saw an explosion that sent up a thick plume of black smoke.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 3, 2025
"I can't believe it," said one motorist, who spoke to AFP on Friday on condition of anonymity.
From Barron's • Nov. 28, 2025
“Naw, I don’t want to take it out in the car. Some passing motorist might call the highway department and claim he saw two men wrestling an anaconda.”
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
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.
