pensioner
Americannoun
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a person who receives or lives on a pension.
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a person who works only for pay without regard to the value of the work; a hireling.
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a student at Cambridge University who pays the cost to dine in the commons and other expenses, and is not supported by any foundation.
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Obsolete. a gentleman-at-arms.
noun
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a person who is receiving a pension, esp an old-age pension from the state
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a person dependent on the pay or bounty of another
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obsolete another name for gentleman-at-arms
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of pensioner
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English; from Anglo-French; pension, + -er 2 ( def. )
Vocabulary lists containing pensioner
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.
But between 1995 and 2010 pensioner incomes doubled in real terms and since then, they have stabilised at that new higher level.
From BBC • May 17, 2026
The pensioner, from York, applied for a year's worth of cover for her Suzuki Splash car with Swinton Insurance, believing she was fully complying with the law.
From BBC • Apr. 20, 2026
"This war has lasted a month. However long it takes, we will continue," said Moussa Nowruzi, a 57-year-old pensioner.
From Barron's • Apr. 2, 2026
Just over the border from Iran, in the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat, pensioner Shemshat Kurbanova is used to buying Iranian juices and fruits.
From Barron's • Mar. 20, 2026
The final addition to the regular group at the farm was Mr. Jelliman, an amiable white pensioner and old friend of the movement who became the farm foreman.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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.
