nomad

[ noh-mad ]

/ ˈnoʊ mæd /

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See synonyms for: nomad / nomads on Thesaurus.com

noun

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.

any wanderer; itinerant.

adjective

nomadic.

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Origin of nomad

1580–90; <Latin nomad-<Greek, stem of nomás pasturing flocks, akin to némein to pasture, graze

OTHER WORDS FROM nomad

no·mad·ism, nounnon·no·mad, noun, adjectivesem·i·no·mad, nounsem·i·no·mad·ism, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use nomad in a sentence

No, instead of the global nomads, Sinatra filled his 707 with his regiment of musicians and his best local buddies.
Frank Sinatra and the Birth of the Jet Set|William Stadiem|August 2, 2014|DAILY BEAST
This year, the artist revisited Nomads for a public art project with More Art called Residents of New York.
The Faces of New York’s Streets|Ann Binlot|May 20, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Some, like the Ait Atta nomads, still migrate throughout the year.
On Foot in the High Atlas Mountains of Morocco|Joanna Eede|January 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Beginning in December 2006 the nomads took at least $81,000 worth of private jet travel.
The Prosecution Rests: Trial Now in Edwards Defense Team's Hands|Diane Dimond|May 10, 2012|DAILY BEAST

The bit with the nomads in the woods and the dog, it is such a surreal moment, with him putting the bones in his pocket.
Boardwalk Empire's Scene-Stealer|Jace Lacob|October 24, 2011|DAILY BEAST
This is what makes nomads of the Savages, and prevents them from remaining long in one place.
The Jesuit Relations and Allied Documents, Vol. II: Acadia, 1612-1614|Various
Finally he came to a clearing and stopped at an Arab village, where he met a great number of the diminutive nomads.
Man And His Ancestor|Charles Morris
Tsampa can be obtained everywhere in Tibet, though it is easier to get it in the villages than from the tents of the nomads.
Mount Everest the Reconnaissance, 1921|Charles Kenneth Howard-Bury
There was no place for them to live but in the caves or as nomads migrating with the animals.
Space Prison|Tom Godwin
This is the rock on which attempts to introduce agriculture among savages or nomads have usually been shipwrecked.
The New Stone Age in Northern Europe|John M. Tyler

British Dictionary definitions for nomad

nomad

/ (ˈnəʊmæd) /

noun

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

a person who continually moves from place to place; wanderer

Derived forms of nomad

nomadism, noun

Word Origin for nomad

C16: via French from Latin nomas wandering shepherd, from Greek; related to nemein to feed, pasture

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

nomad

Origin of nomad

OTHER WORDS FROM nomad

Words related to nomad

How to use nomad in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for nomad

Derived forms of nomad

Word Origin for nomad