visitor
Americannoun
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visitors
plural
noun
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a person who pays a visit; caller, guest, tourist, etc
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another name for visitant
Synonym Usage
Visitor, caller, guest, visitant are terms for a person who comes to spend time with or stay with others, or in a place. A visitor often stays some time, for social pleasure, for business, sightseeing, etc.: a visitor at our neighbor's house. A caller comes for a brief (usually) formal visit: The caller merely left her card. A guest is anyone receiving hospitality, and the word has been extended to include anyone who pays for meals and lodging: a welcome guest; a hotel guest. Visitant applies especially to a migratory bird or to a supernatural being: a warbler as a visitant.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of visitor
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English visitour, from Anglo-French; Old French visiteor, from Late Latin vīsitātor, equivalent to Latin vīsitā(re) “to go to see, visit” ( see visit) + -tor -tor
Explanation
A visitor is someone who is in a place temporarily. If you spend a week on an island during the summer, you're a visitor there, unlike the people who live on the island year-round. When you visit someone, you're a visitor in their home, and if someone visits your school, whether to put on a puppet show or a book fair or a presentation about safety, they're a visitor too. It's also common to refer to an opposing sports team as visitors when they come to play on your team's home turf — but when your team travels for an away game, you're the visitors.
Vocabulary lists containing visitor
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:
At around 2 p.m., the man reported the incident at a visitor center miles north of where the men’s vehicle had broken down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
The Hong Kong insurer’s Chinese mainland visitor business growth softened on a high base, the analyst notes.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
The decision to take the animals off Rhossili Common in Swansea follows months of disagreement, after concerns were raised about visitor safety and the number of horses grazing the National Trust-owned common.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Some fears of illicit data transfers also exist in Europe, said Sarkar, the visitor from Portugal.
From Barron's ● Aug. 19, 2026
Any other day—except Sunday, when the museum was closed—Aru would help hand out visitor stickers.
From "Aru Shah and the End of Time" by Roshani Chokshi
She said she hopes the show’s visitors will be encouraged to “treat our immigrants as humanely as possible.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 24, 2026
"We remain committed to providing safe environments for pupils, staff and visitors and will continue to manage asbestos in accordance with all current legal requirements and recognised best practice."
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
Indeed, your avian visitors may complain if you give them fewer tasty treats or stop feeding them altogether.
From Science Daily ● Aug. 24, 2026
I heard, in preparation for this story, that the DJ occasionally requests that visitors form a conga Iine.
From Slate ● Aug. 24, 2026
Modern visitors to Monticello marvel at its beauty and Jefferson’s genius.
From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis
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.
