passenger
Americannoun
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a person who is traveling in an automobile, bus, train, airplane, or other conveyance, especially one who is not the driver, pilot, or the like.
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a wayfarer; traveler.
noun
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a person travelling in a car, train, boat, etc, not driven by him
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( as modifier )
a passenger seat
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a member of a group or team who is a burden on the others through not participating fully in the work
Other Word Forms
- nonpassenger noun
Etymology
Origin of passenger
1300–50; Middle English passager < Middle French, noun use of passag ( i ) er (adj.) passing, temporary; passage 1, -ier 2; for -n- messenger, harbinger, scavenger, popinjay
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.
This makes it a welcome passenger on lazy day trips or late-night drives, and a generally acceptable ambient addition to crowded good times.
From Salon • Apr. 4, 2026
The earliest passenger elevators were powered by steam engines and used hemp ropes.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 2, 2026
Meanwhile in August 2025, an Apollo Go robotaxi carrying a passenger in Chongqing fell into a construction pit.
From BBC • Apr. 1, 2026
The video also shows a passenger in the blue BMW throwing a water bottle out the window in the direction of the cyclists.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2026
“You can have the front seat,” Sydney said, holding open the passenger door.
From "City Spies" by James Ponti
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.
