vagrant

American  

[vey-gruhnt] / ˈveɪ grənt /

noun

• vagrants
  plural

1. a person who wanders about idly and has no permanent home or employment; vagabond; tramp.

2. Law. an idle person without visible means of support, as a tramp or beggar.

3. a person who wanders from place to place; wanderer; rover.

4. wandering idly without a permanent home or employment; living in vagabondage.

   vagrant beggars.

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adjective

1. of, relating to, or characteristic of a vagrant.

   the vagrant life.

2. wandering or roaming from place to place; nomadic.

3. (of plants) straggling in growth.

4. not fixed or settled, especially in course; moving hither and thither.

   a vagrant leaf blown by the wind.

vagrant British  

/ ˈveɪɡrənt /

noun

1. a person of no settled abode, income, or job; tramp

2. a migratory animal that is off course

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adjective

1. wandering about; nomadic

2. of, relating to, or characteristic of a vagrant or vagabond

3. moving in an erratic fashion, without aim or purpose; wayward

4. (of plants) showing uncontrolled or straggling growth

Synonym Usage

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

Derived Forms

• nonvagrantness
  noun
• unvagrantness
  noun
• vagrantness
  noun
• nonvagrant
  adjective
• unvagrant
  adjective
• nonvagrantly
  adverb
• unvagrantly
  adverb
• vagrantly
  adverb

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• vagrants
  plural

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- ( see walk) + -r- frequentative suffix + -en infinitive suffix

Explanation

A vagrant is someone who is homeless and poor and may wander from place to place. In fiction a vagrant often is a criminal, but a real-life vagrant might just be a person who has lost a job and family and lives off the streets with help from charity. Many synonyms for vagrant imply laziness and criminal behavior, such as "bum," "tramp," and "vagabond," and some vagrants do make money through crime. Often, though, a vagrant is a down-on-his-luck person who has lost work, family, or health and lives on the streets. European roots for vagrant point to "wander" or "wander about," and a vagrant is a wanderer — a man or woman without a place to call home.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

vagrant vagrants

Shuster was once found on a park bench and thought to be a vagrant.

From Salon ● Jul. 31, 2026

Mr. Martin walked the property later that day as police removed a vagrant from a building.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 1, 2026

"I won't have to be a vagrant anymore."

From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2025

“Where once it owned the continent, it’s now a kind of vagrant, occupying the botanical equivalent of homeless encampments.”

From Seattle Times ● Nov. 8, 2023

“I’ll give you a piece of bread,” she said, after a pause; “but we can’t take in a vagrant to lodge. It isn’t likely.”

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

Mr. Pratt has recorded cute social-media videos with dogs, promising to overhaul the city’s dysfunctional shelter system and to require vagrants to get treatment for mental health illnesses and addictions.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 24, 2026

"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 ● Dec. 10, 2024

The fish and wildlife agency said officers responded to reports of a man eating the protected species on the island, which is undeveloped and frequented by vagrants.

From Washington Times ● Nov. 22, 2023

Ceruti was tagged “Pitocchetto” — the little beggar — given his fondness for pictures of maidservants, peasant families and vagrants in tattered rags.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 9, 2023

Maybe even the jail, in case the town decided they were vagrants.

From "Water for Elephants" by Sara Gruen

Related Words

• itinerant
• nomadic
• peripatetic
• roving
• wandering
• wayfaring