a person who journeys, especially a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion.
pilgrims to the Holy Land.
a traveler or wanderer, especially in a foreign place.
an original settler in a region.
(initial capital letter) one of the band of Puritans who founded the colony of Plymouth, Mass., in 1620.
a newcomer to a region or place, especially to the western U.S.
a person who undertakes a journey to a sacred place as an act of religious devotion
any wayfarer
First recorded in 1150–1200; Middle English pelegrim, pilegrim, cognate with Old Frisian pilegrīm, Middle Low German pelegrīm, Old High German piligrīm, Old Norse pīlagrīmr, all from Medieval Latin pelegrīnus, dissimilated variant of Latin peregrīnus peregrine
You might be a Muslim on your way to Mecca, or a Hindu going to the Ganges, or a Christian traveling to Lourdes. When you make a reverent journey to a place you consider sacred, you're a pilgrim. You can also use the word less seriously and call yourself a pilgrim when you make the trip to Graceland for Elvis Week. Another kind of pilgrim (often spelled with a capital P) are the Puritans who fled religious persecution in Europe, came over on the Mayflower, and founded Plymouth Colony, in Massachusetts. The word comes from the Latin peregrinus, "foreign," or "a foreigner," and if you just travel to foreign countries, you’re a pilgrim, too.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"I can't believe I've finished the hajj rituals," Iraqi pilgrim Adnan Hamad, 58, told AFP, as his daughters in white robes, or abayas, looked on.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
Every person is a pilgrim on their own grief journey.
From Slate ● Apr. 23, 2026
Fearful of a future shackled to the home, Charu leaves at 16 to find her way in Bombay, the first of this pilgrim soul’s reinventions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 20, 2026
An avid researcher armed with a camera, Enriquez is both reporter and pilgrim.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 30, 2025
And among the Brahmins’ sons in the towns and villages, every pilgrim and stranger was welcome if he brought news of him, the Illustrious, the Sakyamuni.
From "Siddhartha" by Hermann Hesse
Goodyear’s first branded blimp, Pilgrim, made its inaugural flight on June 3, 1925, and the famous airships have graced the skies ever since, photographing and filming Super Bowls, World Series, Olympics and more.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 27, 2025
The state produces only about half as much electricity as it did in 2010 because of closures of coal plants and the Pilgrim nuclear plant in 2019.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2025
Her friends called an ambulance and she was subsequently taken to Skegness and district general hospital before being moved to Pilgrim Hospital Boston for scans to assess the damage.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2025
In the 1860s, when the Pilgrim story was fully enshrined as one of the pillars of capital-H History, Thanksgiving became a national holiday.
From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2024
And Hitler turned into a baby, Billy Pilgrim supposed.
From "Slaughterhouse-Five" by Kurt Vonnegut
His mausoleum, which dates to the 9th Century and has a towering golden dome and minarets, is visited by millions of pilgrims each year.
From BBC ● Jul. 9, 2026
The heat was unrelenting, but there were some shoppers, pilgrims and tourists around - and the vendors said they'd set up shops in the hope of finding some customers.
From BBC ● Jun. 15, 2026
Groups of all ages converged on the city centre to the sound of drums and guitars, with hardy pilgrims lugging rucksacks and camping material on their backs.
From Barron's ● Jun. 7, 2026
More than 50,000 healthcare staff and 3,000 ambulances were deployed to help pilgrims in need, the Saudi health ministry said.
From Barron's ● May 26, 2026
Our car slowed through the winding streets, lined by shops on both sides and with buses, cars, and tracks, and tens of thousands of pilgrims from all over the earth were everywhere.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
