tourist
Americannoun
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a person who travels for pleasure, usually sightseeing and staying in hotels
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( as modifier )
tourist attractions
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a person on an excursion or sightseeing tour
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a person travelling abroad as a member of a sports team that is playing a series of usually international matches
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Also called: tourist class. the lowest class of accommodation on a passenger ship
adjective
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of tourist
Explanation
Someone who visits a city, town, or historic site just for the pleasure of exploring it can be described as a tourist. When you travel for fun, you're a tourist. Some local inhabitants of vacation destinations might have a negative image of obnoxious, camera-toting tourists, but really they're just travelers who are curious about different parts of the world. Beaches, amusement parks, castles, and big cities are all places you're likely to run into tourists. The term "tourist trap," or a place that exists only to take tourists' money, was first used in 1939 by the novelist Graham Greene.
Vocabulary lists containing tourist
This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for August 21–August 27, 2021
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Travel
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This Week in Words: Current Events Vocab for February 5–February 11, 2022
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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:
However, the club were warned over sportswashing after revealing Visit Rwanda - the African country's tourist board - as their new front-of-shirt sponsor last month.
From BBC ● Aug. 9, 2026
“Monrovia is not a tourist haven, so guests to our inn will be destination-oriented,” Cain says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
The incident took place in the capital's busy tourist area filled with bars, theatres and restaurants.
From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026
At the height of the tourist season, authorities warned that the wildfire threat would remain "very high" on Monday.
From Barron's ● Aug. 3, 2026
My skin is darker than even the paintings of African queens hanging in tourist shops, same paintings my mom would buy so she could hang on her bedroom walls.
From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender
Clockwise from top left; Parasailing boats take tourists for rides near Avalon.;
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 6, 2026
He began hauling chairs and a stack of conversation prompts to parks across New York, inviting commuters, dog walkers and tourists to sit down and talk.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 4, 2026
For the local bikers offering videos for tourists, Chongqing's motorcycle prowess is a business opportunity.
From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026
How did trucks and tourists and Californians manage the uphills and downhills among inclines and ridges that could be windy or icy or foggy, sometimes all at once?
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 1, 2026
Like Mr. Stone said, there was still a lot of work to be done to get ready for the tourists.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
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.
