cruise
verb (used without object)
to sail about on a pleasure trip.
Showing results for cruise.
cruise
1 American
[krooz]
/ kruz /
verb (used without object)
-
cruises,
present (3rd person singular)
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cruised,
past participle, past
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cruising
present participle
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to sail about on a pleasure trip.
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to sail about, as a warship patrolling a body of water.
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to travel about without a particular purpose or destination.
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to fly, drive, or sail at a constant speed that permits maximum operating efficiency for sustained travel.
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to travel at a moderately fast, easily controllable speed.
cruising along the highway enjoying the scenery.
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to travel about slowly, looking for customers or for something demanding attention.
Taxis and police cars cruise in the downtown area.
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to go or travel (often followed byover ).
Let's cruise over to my house after the concert.
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Informal. to go about on the streets or in public areas in search of a sexual partner.
verb (used with object)
-
cruises,
present (3rd person singular)
-
cruised,
past participle, past
-
cruising
present participle
-
to cruise in (a specified area).
patrol cars cruising the neighborhood; to cruise the Caribbean.
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Informal.
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to move slowly through or visit (a street, park, bar, etc.) in search of a sexual partner.
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to make sexual overtures to; attempt to arouse the sexual interest of.
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to inspect (a tract of forest) for the purpose of estimating lumber potential.
noun
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cruises
plural
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the act of cruising.
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a pleasure voyage on a ship, usually with stops at various ports.
Cruise
2
American
[krooz]
/ kruz /
noun
cruise
1
British
/ kruːz /
verb
-
(intr) to make a trip by sea in a liner for pleasure, usually calling at a number of ports
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to sail or travel over (a body of water) for pleasure in a yacht, cruiser, etc
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(intr) to search for enemy vessels in a warship
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(intr) (of a vehicle, aircraft, or vessel) to travel at a moderate and efficient speed
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informal (intr) to search the streets or other public places for a sexual partner
noun
Cruise
2
British
/ kruːz /
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
cruisesimple
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cruisessimple
-
have cruisedperfect
-
has cruisedperfect
-
am cruisingprogressive
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are cruisingprogressive
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is cruisingprogressive
-
have been cruisingperfect progressive
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has been cruisingperfect progressive
Past
-
cruisedsimple
-
had cruisedperfect
-
was cruisingprogressive
-
were cruisingprogressive
-
had been cruisingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of cruise
1645–55; < Dutch kruisen to cross, cruise, derivative of kruis cross
Explanation
If your mom announces “We’re taking a cruise!” then pack your bags. A cruise is a vacation spent on a ship that sails the ocean, periodically stopping in ports for sightseeing. Cruise can also be a verb that describes sailing around aimlessly for fun. You might cruise the canals of Venice in a small boat. If you don’t live in Venice, you can still cruise — but you might do it in your car. Cruise can be used to describe a leisurely drive taken just for fun. You might cruise around the neighborhood on a Saturday with no real destination in mind. Cruise can also describe traveling easily at a moderate speed.
Vocabulary lists containing cruise
Greetings, World Traveler! — List 2
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List 4
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for January 1–January 7, 2022
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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:
The company added that it was investing in its air conditioning systems across its European river cruise fleet this winter, including significant upgrades.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
The agents have access to special rates or perks through their relationships with hotels, airlines and cruise lines.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
But many whales are also identifiable by their scars, including from collisions with everything from tankers, cargo and cruise ships to fishing boats and recreational vessels.
From Barron's ● Aug. 18, 2026
In 2024, the company tested a cruise missile that packs a far bigger punch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 15, 2026
I ran to the curb and grabbed a taxi that was just letting out a family of cruise passengers.
From "The Sea of Monsters" by Rick Riordan
Cruise recently hosted an influencer event for “Digger” at which he gave an up-close look at a VistaVision camera used in shooting the movie.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
It was the accessories at Jonathan Anderson’s first Cruise show for Dior that left an impression months after the last streetlamp was turned off at the base of the David Geffen Galleries.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 14, 2026
The agreement makes Kraft Heinz the exclusive provider of some condiments, macaroni and cheese and cream cheese at Disney’s North American parks and resorts, and on the Disney Cruise Line.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
And if you haven't seen him during one of the many half-time commercial breaks, you've probably spotted him at the United States' opening match in Los Angeles, watching alongside his friend Tom Cruise.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
How did Officer Cruise remove him from the car?
From "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas
Passengers described stifling conditions as well as problems with plumbing after paying thousands of pounds for European cruises, including on the Danube River.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
By July, low river levels due to the heatwave were severely affecting European cruises.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Travel agents have access to cheaper bookings and perks: They can often provide discounts on hotels, cruises and tours, or access to perks like VIP packages and upgraded rooms that aren’t available to the public.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
Many of these tourists are visiting multiple times a year, stopping at the Eiffel Tower and the Colosseum, but also taking country walks in the Cotswolds and Viking cruises on the Danube.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 10, 2026
When I was in the zone on a high-speed classic like Defender, I felt like a hawk in flight, or the way I thought a shark must feel as it cruises the ocean floor.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
He said he’d led a charmed life until his 40s, when a divorce unsettled his sense of having cruised along on luck, intelligence and hard work.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
But he cruised into the Hall of Fame last December as the only person elected on an Era Committee ballot that included all-time home run leader Barry Bonds and seven-time Cy Young Award-winner Roger Clemens.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026
But after 19-year-old Littler reeled off five legs in a row, there proved to be no way back for Rock as the defending champion, in dazzling form, cruised into the semi-finals.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The 19-year-old has scored one goal and has not made an assist, but his country have cruised into the final anyway and will face Argentina on Sunday.
From BBC ● Jul. 19, 2026
From this vantage point he jealously inspected the yachts of the Seattlites who cruised past South Beach on their way to anchorages in Amity Harbor.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
Campaigner George Seward said he was getting up at 05:00 BST and cruising until dark to get his narrowboat through the Atherstone flight of locks, after a sudden closure was announced.
From BBC ● Aug. 1, 2026
It captured the romantic appeal of cruising Los Angeles at night and became nothing less than an immediate local classic.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2026
For a while it looked like it would be Edgbaston all over again as, set a huge 374 to win, England were cruising.
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
So she and relatives of at least five other trapped people stood in the road where rescue teams kept cruising past, and blocked it, demanding attention.
From Barron's ● Jun. 28, 2026
We’ve left the gravel and are cruising along on pavement again when she looks up from the notebook she’s now writing in.
From "All The Bright Places" by Jennifer Niven
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.
