vagabond
Americanadjective
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wandering from place to place without any settled home; nomadic.
a vagabond tribe.
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leading an unsettled or carefree life.
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disreputable; worthless; shiftless.
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of, relating to, or characteristic of a vagabond.
vagabond habits.
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having an uncertain or irregular course or direction.
a vagabond voyage.
noun
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a person with no fixed home
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an idle wandering beggar or thief
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(modifier) of or like a vagabond; shiftless or idle
Synonym Usage
See vagrant.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of vagabond
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English vagabound (from Old French vagabond ), from Late Latin vagābundus “wandering, vagrant,” equivalent to Latin vagā(rī) “to wander” + -bundus adjective suffix
Explanation
A vagabond is someone who moves around a lot. Picture Boxcar Willie, bandana on a stick thrown over his shoulder, going wherever the breeze takes him. Vagabond can also be an adjective, a nomadic tribe is a vagabond one, or the person who moved eight times in two years is living a vagabond life. It's from the Latin word vagabundus (from vagari, "wander") which means "inclined to wander." So — if you were born a ramblin' man, you might just be a vagabond.
Vocabulary lists containing vagabond
"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 14–18
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Bless Me, Ultima
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Tolkien Reading Day, List 1
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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:
Its stone fireplace comes to rest on what appear to be colossal boulders deposited by the last vagabond glacier.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
A friend unexpectedly hosted a vagabond queen who birthed a litter in their place.
From Salon ● Dec. 6, 2024
The song’s lyrics, hinged on the image of a humble rural hunter “just trying to survive,” double as an analog for Ferrell’s journey to date, from West Virginia vagabond to Americana queen.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 1, 2024
It was a Monday afternoon when two Detroit police officers were flagged down by Rudolph Henderson, a 43-year-old vagabond.
From Seattle Times ● Dec. 20, 2023
Most folks took no more notice of me than they would a cartman selling oysters or a vagabond from Canvastown. just as I set my mind to leave, Captain Farrar came back out.
From "Chains" by Laurie Halse Anderson
He said they were a "band of vagabonds" who were trying to escape from conventional regimental discipline.
From BBC ● Nov. 26, 2022
The chapter continues: "Let his children be continually vagabonds, and beg: let them seek their bread also out of their desolate places."
From Salon ● Jun. 13, 2022
"I joined our tribe of rogues and vagabonds a long time ago," said Mirren.
From Reuters ● Feb. 28, 2022
I always say we’re just gypsies — vagabonds who form these tribes of weird families who go from place to place to create art: I couldn’t imagine doing anything else with my life.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 13, 2021
“These three vagabonds are not Ashtons. Not Ashtons at all. They are the Incorrigibles, indeed—and that is what we shall call them, from now on.”
From "The Incorrigible Children of Ashton Place: Book I: The Mysterious Howling" by Maryrose Wood
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
