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
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.
Vocabulary lists containing vagrant
Lord of the Flies
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The Lightning Thief
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Just Mercy
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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.
Mr. Martin walked the property later that day as police removed a vagrant from a building.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 1, 2026
He served four years, but on his release he had no family, friends or place to live, so he became a vagrant.
From BBC • Jun. 14, 2025
He’s a vagrant by definition — a man with no job, no paper trail or online presence.
From Salon • Jan. 20, 2024
“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
The grocery opened at dawn and did not close until the last wandering vagrant dime had been spent or retired for the night.
From "Cannery Row" by John Steinbeck
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.
