vagrant
Americannoun
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a person who wanders about idly and has no permanent home or employment; vagabond; tramp.
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Law. an idle person without visible means of support, as a tramp or beggar.
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a person who wanders from place to place; wanderer; rover.
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wandering idly without a permanent home or employment; living in vagabondage.
vagrant beggars.
adjective
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of, relating to, or characteristic of a vagrant.
the vagrant life.
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wandering or roaming from place to place; nomadic.
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(of plants) straggling in growth.
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not fixed or settled, especially in course; moving hither and thither.
a vagrant leaf blown by the wind.
noun
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a person of no settled abode, income, or job; tramp
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a migratory animal that is off course
adjective
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wandering about; nomadic
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of, relating to, or characteristic of a vagrant or vagabond
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moving in an erratic fashion, without aim or purpose; wayward
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(of plants) showing uncontrolled or straggling growth
Related Words
Vagrant, vagabond describe an idle, disreputable person who lacks a fixed abode. Vagrant suggests a tramp, a person with no settled abode or livelihood, an idle and disorderly person: picked up by police as a vagrant. Vagabond especially emphasizes the idea of worthless living, often by trickery, thieving, or other disreputable means: Actors were once classed with rogues and vagabonds.
Other Word Forms
- nonvagrant adjective
- nonvagrantly adverb
- nonvagrantness noun
- unvagrant adjective
- unvagrantly adverb
- unvagrantness noun
- vagrantly adverb
- vagrantness noun
Etymology
Origin of vagrant
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English vagaraunt, apparently present participle of unattested Anglo-French vagrer, perhaps from unattested Middle English vagren, blend of vagen (from Latin vagārī “to wander”) and unattested walcren (becoming Old French wa(u)crer ), equivalent to walc- ( walk ) + -r- frequentative suffix + -en infinitive suffix
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.
He served four years, but on his release he had no family, friends or place to live, so he became a vagrant.
From BBC
"Romanians go to other countries for work, but we have so many resources here. Wood, grain - and our soil is very rich. Why should we be vagrants in Italy?"
From BBC
He plays Tom T. Shiftlet, a one-armed vagrant who talks a woman into taking him on as her handyman, then marries her mute, deaf daughter, Lucynell.
From New York Times
But now, it had shuttered all but the main tavern hall and several rooms for solitary vagrants.
From Literature
But from the arguments, it’s not clear the court will say Grants Pass went too far and violated the “vagrants’ ” constitutional rights.
From Seattle Times
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.
