Robinson Crusoe

American  

[kroo-soh] / ˈkru soʊ /

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).

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Robinson Crusoe British  

noun

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

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Robinson Crusoe Cultural  

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.

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

Example Sentences

On the way to Othello they could hop on poor Robinson Crusoe for not saying ‘Mr. Friday’ on the island.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 27, 2025

Damien and one of the daughters travel to visit a woman in a wonderful, ramshackle jungle farm — one part Robinson Crusoe and two parts Dr. Seuss.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 28, 2023

Madagascar’s fabulously improbable wildlife, from gremlin-like aye-ayes to satanic leaf-tailed geckos, may be thanks to dozens of dramatic oceanic journeys that would put Robinson Crusoe to shame, new research says.

From National Geographic • May 18, 2023

He prefers not to think what he's leaving behind, but a colleague compared him to Robinson Crusoe about to leave his island.

From Reuters • Jul. 5, 2022

And I began to get into Robinson Crusoe.

From "Kindred" by Octavia Butler