nomad
Americannoun
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a member of a people or tribe that has no permanent abode but moves about from place to place, usually seasonally and often following a traditional route or circuit according to the state of the pasturage or food supply.
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any wanderer; itinerant.
adjective
noun
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a member of a people or tribe who move from place to place to find pasture and food
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a person who continually moves from place to place; wanderer
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of nomad
First recorded in 1580–90; from Latin nomad-, from Greek, stem of nomás “roaming about for pasture,” akin to némein “to pasture, graze”
Explanation
A nomad is someone with no permanent home, like the member of a tribe that moves from place to place in search of food, or the rock star who spends 365 days a year in tour buses and hotel rooms. The word nomad has traditionally meant a member of a tribe of people who roamed from place to place in search of animals and shelter. Nomadic tribes wandered out of necessity. Wherever the food went, they went. In its more modern sense, a nomad is someone who would rather wander from place to place than set down roots, like the nomad who crashes at his friends' apartments in various cities instead of renting his own place.
Vocabulary lists containing nomad
Human Geography - Middle School
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Human Geography - High School
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The Breadwinner
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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.
The idea of being a digital nomad with no oversight is romantic, but when your income is project-based or hourly billed, you start feeling like every waking moment you aren’t working is costing you money.
From MarketWatch • Mar. 16, 2026
He described himself as a "spiritual nomad", exploring paths through yoga, Buddhism, and Christian mysticism, and learned from the Dalai Lama - whom he gifted a tartan-pouched hair clipper in 1988.
From BBC • Jul. 15, 2025
More than 60 countries have recently introduced digital nomad visa programs, which typically last between six months and a year.
From Salon • Nov. 16, 2024
She’s originally from L.A.’s South Bay, and the nomad lifestyle that’s often a feature of her profession as an actor often leaves her feeling like she’s stranded on an island.
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 16, 2024
Mostly, pottery is owned by sedentary societies: what nomad wants to carry a collection of heavy pots, as well as weapons and the baby, every time he or she shifts camp?
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
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.
