traveler

American  

[trav-uh-ler, trav-ler] / ˈtræv ə lər, ˈtræv lər /

especially British, traveller

noun

1. a person or thing that travels.

2. a person who travels or has traveled in distant places or foreign lands.

3. traveling salesman.

4. part of a mechanism constructed to move in a fixed course.

5. Textiles. (in ring spinning) a small metal device that moves rapidly around the ring and guides the yarn onto the revolving bobbin.

6. Nautical.

   1. a metal ring or thimble fitted to move freely on a rope, spar, or rod.

   2. Also called horse.  the rope, spar, or rod itself.

7. Theater. Also traveler curtain. a transverse curtain opened by being drawn from both sides of the proscenium.

8. (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.

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Other Word Forms

• nontraveler noun

Etymology

Origin of traveler

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English travaillour; 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.

Example Sentences

The upshot, he said: “More demand, stronger pricing and a new type of traveler entering the market almost overnight.”

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 11, 2026

How does all this play out for the average traveler?

From MarketWatch • Apr. 10, 2026

The Kent exit put Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, his former boss and fellow traveler, in a most uncomfortable spot.

From Slate • Mar. 21, 2026

“It sucks,” McBride said of the dignity-deflating status of a wheelchair traveler.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 15, 2026

He was supposed to have lived a generation earlier than the most famous Greek traveler, the hero of the Odyssey.

From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton

Related Words

• adventurer
• commuter
• hiker
• migrant
• passenger
• pilgrim
• sailor
• tourist