nomad

American  

[noh-mad] / ˈnoʊ mæd /

noun

nomads plural

1. 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.

2. any wanderer; itinerant.

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adjective

1. nomadic.

nomad British  

/ ˈnəʊmæd /

noun

1. a member of a people or tribe who move from place to place to find pasture and food

2. a person who continually moves from place to place; wanderer

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• nomadism
  noun
• nonnomad
  noun
• seminomad
  noun
• seminomadism
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• nomads
  plural

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.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

nomad nomads

Once the nomad larvae hatch, they kill the host bee larvae and consume the stored pollen and nectar intended for the mining bees.

From Science Daily ● May 28, 2026

However, this nomad only looked like a pauper.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026

She saw the tragedy as an "opportunity" to travel the world as a digital nomad, spending months at a time in places like Australia, Bali, Malta, and Thailand.

From BBC ● Apr. 6, 2026

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

“You mean besides selling everything we own, becoming a nomad, and charging desperate people a ton of cash to help them?”

From "Storm Runners" by Roland Smith

The Afar region of north-eastern Ethiopia is one of the hottest and driest places on Earth, where nomads often lead camel caravans carrying salt through the desert.

From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026

The yurts had been left behind by nomads who’d taken their sheep, goats or cattle somewhere else this time of year.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 1, 2026

Tibetans, many of whom are nomads, have clashed with Chinese authorities over plans to exploit natural resources in the Tibetan plateau, arguing that such projects endanger their livelihoods.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 12, 2025

They may have become nomads and hunter-gatherers to stay safe.

From BBC ● Oct. 25, 2025

She liked to sit by the train window and watch the thick woods sliding past, the grassy plains unfurling, the cattle swinging their tails as they were herded by bare-chested nomads.

From "Half of a Yellow Sun" by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie

Related Words

• migrant
• pilgrim
• vagabond
• wanderer