visitor

[viz-i-ter]

noun

1. a person who visits, as for reasons of friendship, business, duty, travel, or the like.

visitor

/ ˈvɪzɪtə /

noun

1. a person who pays a visit; caller, guest, tourist, etc

2. another name for visitant

Other Word Forms

• previsitor noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of visitor¹

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” ( visit ) + -tor -tor

Synonym Study

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.

Example Sentences

He was a guest at his inauguration and a regular visitor to the White House.

From BBC

Filming in town mostly stopped in the 1950s, but the area continues to offer visitors and residents a unique mix of fantasy and function decades later.

From Los Angeles Times

The colourful glare of the Oasis food court, which then included restaurants like Rock Island Diner and Ma Potter's, was a magnet for visitors.

From BBC

“It was so sudden ... lately Uhara was getting visitors even from outside Japan. It’s really unfortunate.”

From Los Angeles Times

ICE has said that those arrested were found to be working illegally, many on “short-term or recreational visas,” which do not allow visitors to work.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• caller 
• company 
• foreigner 
• guest