Meanings
plural stowaways · alternative stow-away
- A person who hides on board a ship, train, etc. so as to get a free passage.
My client is an infant, a poor foreign immigrant who started scratch as a stowaway and is now trying to turn an honest penny.
1922 February 2, James Joyce, “[15]”, in Ulysses, Paris: Shakespeare and Company […], →OCLC3 more examples
“Oh, I don't mind 'em, sir,” said Archy; “I knew it all before now. Didn't I hear 'em in the hold? And didn't I tell Cabaco here of it? What say ye, Cabaco? They are stowaways, Mr. Flask.”
1851 November 14, Herman Melville, “The First Lowering”, in Moby-Dick; or, The Whale, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y.: Harper & Brothers; London: Richard Bentley, →OCLC, page 242In every sense of the expression he is ‘on deck’; but my Jim, for the most part, skulked down below as though he had been a stowaway.
1899 September – 1900 July, Joseph Conrad, chapter XIX, in Lord Jim: A Tale, Edinburgh; London: William Blackwood and Sons, published 1900, →OCLC, page 213One explanation came to me, and I leaped at it—the possibility of a stowaway hidden in the hold, some maniacal fugitive who had found in the little cargo boat’s empty hull ample room to hide.
1914, Mary Roberts Rinehart, chapter VII, in The After House
Synonyms & antonyms
Origin
From stow away, from stow and away.
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Catalan polissó, polissona
- polissóperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- polissonaperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Chinese Mandarin 偷渡者
- 偷渡者 (tōudùzhě)person who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Czech černý pasažér
- černý pasažérperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Danish blind passager
- blind passagerperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Dutch verstekeling
- verstekelingperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Esperanto kaŝpasaĝero
- kaŝpasaĝeroperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Finnish jänis, salamatkustaja
- jänisperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- salamatkustajaperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- vapaamatkustajaperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
French passager clandestin
- passager clandestinperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
German blinder Passagier, blinde Passagierin
- blinder Passagierperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- blinde Passagierinperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Hebrew נוֹסֵעַ סָמוּי
- נוֹסֵעַ סָמוּי (nose'a samui)person who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Hungarian potyautas
- potyautasperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Icelandic laumufarþegi, farþjófur
- laumufarþegiperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- farþjófurperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Italian clandestino
- clandestinoperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Japanese 密航者
- 密航者 (mikkōsha)person who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Korean 밀항자
- 밀항자 (milhangja)person who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Māori pāhihi parau, pekewaka
- pāhihi parauperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- pekewakaperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Norwegian Bokmål blindpassasjer
- blindpassasjerperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Polish pasażer na gapę, ślepy pasażer
- pasażer na gapęperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- ślepy pasażerperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Portuguese passageiro clandestino
- passageiro clandestinoperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Russian безбилетник
- безбилетник (bezbiletnik)person who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Spanish polizón, polizona
- polizónperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- polizonaperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Swedish fripassagerare, blindpassagerare
- fripassagerareperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- blindpassagerareperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
- gratispassagerareperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Turkish kaçak yolcu
- kaçak yolcuperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Welsh teithiwr cudd
- teithiwr cuddperson who hides on a ship, train, etc.
Cite this entry
stowaway. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stowaway
“stowaway.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stowaway. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “stowaway,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/stowaway.
Source: stowaway on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.