pensioner
Americannoun
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pensioners
plural
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a person who receives or lives on a pension.
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a person who works only for pay without regard to the value of the work; a hireling.
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a student at Cambridge University who pays the cost to dine in the commons and other expenses, and is not supported by any foundation.
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Obsolete. a gentleman-at-arms.
noun
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a person who is receiving a pension, esp an old-age pension from the state
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a person dependent on the pay or bounty of another
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obsolete another name for gentleman-at-arms
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of pensioner
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; from Anglo-French; pension, + -er 2 ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing pensioner
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.
See Examples For:
A pensioner who became a kinship carer to prevent her two great-granddaughters from going into care says she knew she had to do it despite criticism from some friends.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
And Maricarmen Arnedo, a 76-year-old pensioner, said that while older people were being forced out of their homes, "young people can't move out of their parents' homes".
From Barron's ● Sep. 26, 2026
After a five-hour wait for petrol, Mongolian pensioner Nasanjargal is still 10 places from the pump, with dozens of cars behind him in a queue snaking into the arid steppe.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
"That works out at £365 per month, which when you're a pensioner is a lot of money to be paying extra," she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
The final addition to the regular group at the farm was Mr. Jelliman, an amiable white pensioner and old friend of the movement who became the farm foreman.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
It has appealed to teachers, workers, pensioners and farmers, as well as students, in an online call spread through social media.
From Barron's ● Oct. 16, 2026
Abascal, who died on Wednesday, became the symbol of a crisis that cuts across Spanish society: young and old, renters and buyers, workers and pensioners.
From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026
The senior-most claimants on the French state instead are its pensioners.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
Some 69% of retirees in the UK have a private pension in addition to their state one, official figures show., external In the US 56% of pensioners, external have a private pension.
From BBC ● Sep. 21, 2026
The old men, pensioners on their families, were made to run errands and mind babies, the only work left for old worn-out men in Williamsburg.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
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