- comparative of strange.
stranger
Americannoun
-
strangers
plural
-
a person with whom one has had no personal acquaintance.
He is a perfect stranger to me.
- Antonyms:
- acquaintance
-
a newcomer in a place or locality.
a stranger in town.
-
an outsider.
They want no strangers in on the club meetings.
-
a person who is unacquainted with or unaccustomed to something (usually followed byto ).
He is no stranger to poverty.
-
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.
-
Law. one not privy or party to an act, proceeding, etc.
noun
-
any person whom one does not know
-
a person who is new to a particular locality, from another region, town, etc
-
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
Synonym Usage
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
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of stranger
1325–75; Middle English, from Middle French estrangier, equivalent to estrange strange + -ier -ier 2
Explanation
A stranger is someone you don't know or who doesn't belong in a specific place. Parents tell their kids, "Don't talk to strangers." That's because strangers are people they don't know, who could be dangerous. Just like strange things are odd or weird, a stranger is unknown and therefore potentially scary. Also, anyone out of place can be considered a stranger. A fireman in a police station is a stranger, and a mascot in a scientific lab is a stranger. Either type of stranger is likely to make someone say, "Who's that?"
Vocabulary lists containing stranger
"Encounter"
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"One Crazy Summer" by Rita Williams-Garcia, List 1
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"Old World New World" and "The Log of Christopher Columbus"
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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:
One slightly stranger favorite is ground beef mixed with minced mushrooms and a little mushroom gravy powder, which can become an excellent head start on stew, meatballs, meatloaf or cottage pie.
From Salon ● Aug. 25, 2026
Henry, who has lived in Belfast for a year after leaving his home in Nigeria, remembers the night as "all of a sudden you're getting a hint that you're a stranger".
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
Cofnas, who grew up in New York, is no stranger to courting controversy.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
But her journey ends in an abandoned diner, where she dies in childbirth after charging this stranger she has come to trust with the holy task of protecting her infant daughter.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
“Well, I suppose I should be upset by the intrusion. Then again, it didn’t feel much like an intrusion. I simply talked and the stranger listened. An ideal arrangement, in my books.”
From "The Very, Very Far North" by Dan Bar-el
These include restricting direct messaging for children under 16, not recommending this age group's content to strangers, and allowing parents to set screen-time limits and block accounts.
From Barron's ● Aug. 25, 2026
It was exhilarating as strangers and former pupils popped in, from India to Brazil to Ukraine to a block away from where I lived.
From Salon ● Aug. 24, 2026
"Miraculously he was able to walk to the home of strangers who saw the state he was in and who called for an ambulance."
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
So whatever anyone thinks, Fields’ drive is to make his mom proud, whether it’s in the classroom, on the field or by being respectful to strangers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
That was embarrassing enough, but now his friendliness was going to encourage these strangers to stick around.
From "Two Degrees" by Alan Gratz
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.
