Robinson Crusoe

[kroo-soh]

noun

1. (in a novel by Defoe) a mariner of York who is shipwrecked and lives adventurously for years on a small island.

2. (italics),  the novel itself (1719).

Robinson Crusoe

noun

1. the hero of Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe (1719), who survived being shipwrecked on a desert island

Robinson Crusoe

1. (1719) A novel by the English author Daniel Defoe. Robinson Crusoe, an English sailor, is shipwrecked and cast ashore alone on an uninhabited island. With great ingenuity and energy, Crusoe sets out to civilize his surroundings: he clothes himself, grows crops, and builds and furnishes a house. Eventually, he has the company of his servant, Friday, a man he has saved from cannibals. Crusoe is finally rescued after spending twenty-eight years on the island.

Robinson Crusoe has come to symbolize a person who has the strength and resourcefulness to thrive in isolation.