traveler
Americannoun
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travelers
plural
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a person or thing that travels.
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a person who travels or has traveled in distant places or foreign lands.
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part of a mechanism constructed to move in a fixed course.
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Textiles. (in ring spinning) a small metal device that moves rapidly around the ring and guides the yarn onto the revolving bobbin.
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Nautical.
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a metal ring or thimble fitted to move freely on a rope, spar, or rod.
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Also called horse. the rope, spar, or rod itself.
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Theater. Also traveler curtain. a transverse curtain opened by being drawn from both sides of the proscenium.
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(often initial capital letter) a member of any of a number of traditionally itinerant peoples of the British Isles and other English-speaking areas, including, in addition to people of Romani origin, Indigenous groups such as the speakers of Shelta.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of traveler
First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English travaillour; see travel, -er 1
Explanation
If you take frequent trips across the country or around the world, you are a traveler. Take a plane to Mexico, and all the other passengers are travelers, just like you. Some people travel often, for work or fun, and they are travelers. Even if you're leaving your hometown for the very first time, you're considered a traveler while you are traveling. The trick to this word is that it sounds like it should have two Ls (and in Canada and the U.K., it's spelled traveller), but in the U.S. there's only one.
Vocabulary lists containing traveler
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:
On a Wednesday morning in Terminal 1 at LAX, traveler Nikki Hexum found herself in tears.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
Waiting for a delayed flight, traveler Cassie Feldman tells the poet that she’s looking to shed old patterns before boarding a flight to St. Louis for a family gathering.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
For the poor in spirit, he was a fellow traveler.
From Salon ● Sep. 4, 2026
She is a writer, traveler and skier based in Wyoming.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 24, 2026
“In Florence, women are more enclosed than in any other part of Italy,” a traveler would remark a full century after the Mona Lisa was painted.
From "The Mona Lisa Vanishes" by Nicholas Day
Soon, a line of eager travelers began to form.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
It carries shopping traffic, people traveling to and from work, locals accessing schools and other travelers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Brom convinces Ichabod that this spectral rider lies in wait for nighttime travelers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
A segment of travelers, meanwhile, has greeted the uproar with the particular delight of people who have spent years paying cleaning charges while being handed lists of chores.
From Salon ● Oct. 28, 2026
A passenger train also rolled through town, carrying not only travelers of modest means but also the well-appointed private coaches that the wealthy magnates of that era owned and used to travel around the country.
From "Reaching for the Moon" by Katherine Johnson
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