domestique

do·mes·tique
D2O1M3E1S1T1I1Q10U1E1
UK/ˌdə(ʊ)mɛˈstiːk/UK/ˌdɒ-/US/dəˌmɛˈstik/

noun

A cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team's designated leaders (for example, by riding in front of them to create a slipstream, or to set the pace), even if at the expense of their own individual performance.

Similar
water carrier
OriginFrench domestique ← Latin domesticus →
RareScrabble 22
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Meanings

noundomestique (plural domestiques)

plural domestiques

  1. cycle racingA cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team's designated leaders (for example, by riding in front of them to create a slipstream, or to set the pace), even if at the expense of their own individual performance.

    In a recent poll [Sean] Yates was voted one of the top-10 domestiques of all time, a crucial cog to any leader's Tour ambitions. […] To many casual observers, the role of domestique is not a particularly rewarding one. Yates begs to differ.

    2003 July 24, Matt Majendie, “Domestique Bliss”, in BBC Sport, archived from the original on 26 Oct 2021
    1 more example

    […] Bram De Groot, a domestique with the Dutch Rabobank team, drops out the back, one arm in the air. The team car responds instantly, swinging out of the line of support vehicles behind the peloton and racing, klaxon sounding, up to De Groot. The window opens and a hand emerges with a bidon (plastic drinks bottle). De Groot places it in his back pocket and the hand emerges with another. This one goes down the back of his shirt, and it is joined by five more. Then off he sprints to deliver them to thirsty team-mates. De Groot is one of the domestiques and this is their lot. They continually drop off, collecting bidons and sprinting back into the peloton with grotesquely bulging shirts.

    2006 July 15, “Tour de France 2006: Life is rarely dull among the bottle-carriers and peloton pushers”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC, archived from the original on 15 Mar 2016

    Synonyms: water carrier

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team's designated leaders (for example, by riding in front of them to create a slipstream, or to set the pace), even if at the expense of their own individual performance.

Similar
water carrier

Origin

  1. Latindomesticus“of the house, domestic; familiar; native”
  2. Frenchdomestique“domestic servant, maid”
  3. Englishdomestique

Borrowed from French domestique (“domestic servant, maid”), from domestique (“domestic”, adjective), from Latin domesticus (“of the house, domestic; familiar; native”), from domus (“home, house; place of one's birth or residence, native country”). Doublet of domestic.

More words from French, Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan gregari, gregària
  • gregaricyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
  • gregàriacyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Czech domestik
  • domestikcyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Dutch knecht
  • knechtcyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Finnish apukuski
  • apukuskicyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
French équipier, équipière
  • équipiercyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
  • équipièrecyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
German Domestik, Domestikin
  • Domestikcyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
  • Domestikincyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Hebrew פּוֹעֵל, פּוֹעֶלֶת
  • פּוֹעֵל (po'él)cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
  • פּוֹעֶלֶת (po'élet)cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Italian gregario, gregaria
  • gregariocyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
  • gregariacyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Japanese アシスト
  • アシスト (ashisuto)cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Korean 도메스티크
  • 도메스티크 (domeseutikeu)cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Latvian gregari
  • gregaricyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Norwegian Bokmål hjelperytter
  • hjelperyttercyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Russian домести́к, гре́гари
  • домести́к (domestík)cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
  • гре́гари (grégari)cyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
Spanish gregario, gregaria
  • gregariocyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance
  • gregariacyclist on a cycle racing team whose role is to assist the team’s designated leaders, even if at the expense of their own individual performance

Rhymes & wordplay

Rhymes with domestique

weekuniquecreekspeakpeakgreekseektechniqueweakgeekboutiquecritiqueobliquechicstreaksleekcheekpeekteaktweakmalikbleakphysiqueSikh
All rhymes →
Cite this entry
APA

domestique. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/domestique

MLA

“domestique.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/domestique. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “domestique,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/domestique.

Source: domestique on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.