traveler
Americannoun
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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.
The first shot has a miserable grandeur: a frigid landscape, frozen berries and wind so strong it nearly blows a starving traveler sideways.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 18, 2026
After his return he became famous throughout Europe as a traveler, scientist and the author of “A Voyage Round the World,” his 1777 account of the journey and the island cultures encountered along the way.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 12, 2026
Midtown Global Market and Powderhorn Park — If you’re the kind of traveler who struggles to choose just one place to eat, Midtown Global Market is your answer.
From Salon • Jun. 11, 2026
“The affluent traveler can afford to travel to the E.U., but larger groups and families are gravitating domestically to manage expenses,” Entwistle told MarketWatch.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026
Disguised as a traveler, she would slip into taverns and coach houses to eavesdrop on conversations and chat with the locals, then bring the peasant talk back to camp.
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
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.
