stranger
Americannoun
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a person with whom one has had no personal acquaintance.
He is a perfect stranger to me.
- Antonyms:
- acquaintance
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a newcomer in a place or locality.
a stranger in town.
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an outsider.
They want no strangers in on the club meetings.
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a person who is unacquainted with or unaccustomed to something (usually followed byto ).
He is no stranger to poverty.
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a person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like, as a visitor or guest.
Our town shows hospitality to strangers.
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Law. one not privy or party to an act, proceeding, etc.
noun
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any person whom one does not know
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a person who is new to a particular locality, from another region, town, etc
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a guest or visitor
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(foll by to) a person who is unfamiliar (with) or new (to) something
he is no stranger to computers
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law a person who is neither party nor privy to a transaction
Related Words
Stranger, foreigner both refer to someone regarded as outside of or distinct from a particular group. Stranger may apply to one who does not belong to some group—social, professional, national, etc.—or may apply to a person with whom one is not acquainted. Foreigner emphasizes a difference in language, customs, and background.
Other Word Forms
- strangerlike adjective
Etymology
Origin of stranger
1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French estrangier, equivalent to estrange strange + -ier -ier 2
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.
Carrick has not been a stranger to Manchester United this season.
From BBC
Without warning, some 50 strangers had suddenly arrived in vans and were occupying a vacant building on Ocean Avenue the night before Thanksgiving.
From Los Angeles Times
Their options would be dictated by the rules governing their homeowners associations; the wraparound insurance policies paid for by their dues; and the financial health of dozens of their neighbors, some of them strangers.
These chance encounters with strangers that we maybe don’t know that we need to have met on our journey, that are a chance for us to express ourselves.
From Los Angeles Times
The army officer, who has worked in various roles in the armed forces since 2001, earlier thanked the "overwhelming" generosity of strangers who had donated towards his recovery.
From BBC
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.
