Meanings
nounvagabond (plural vagabonds)
plural vagabonds
- A person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time.
- One who usually wanders from place to place, having no fixed dwelling, or not abiding in it, and usually without the means of honest livelihood.
Anoleis: You will excuse me if I don't stand up. Anoleis: I have no time to entertain spaceborn vagabonds.
2008, BioWare, Mass Effect, Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Noveria2 more examples
Foꝛ when thou tylleſt the grounde ſhe ſhall hẽcefoꝛth not geve hyꝛ power vnto the. A vagabunde and a rennagate ſhalt thou be vpon the erth.
1530 January 27 (Gregorian calendar), W[illiam] T[yndale], transl., [The Pentateuch] (Tyndale Bible), Malborow [Marburg], Hesse: […] Hans Luft [actually Antwerp: Johan Hoochstraten], →OCLC, Genesis iiij:[12], folio v, verso"Here is the beastly thing. 'Every person professing to tell fortunes or using any subtle craft, means or device to deceive and impose on any of His Majesty's subjects shall be deemed a rogue and a vagabond', and so on and so forth."
1925 July – 1926 May, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “(please specify the chapter number)”, in The Land of Mist (eBook no. 0601351h.html), Australia: Project Gutenberg Australia, published April 2019
verbvagabond (third-person singular simple present vagabonds, present participle vagabonding, simple past and past participle vagabonded)
present singular third person vagabonds · participle present vagabonding · participle past vagabonded · past vagabonded
- To roam, as a vagabond
adjectivevagabond (not comparable)
- not comparableFloating about without any certain direction; driven to and fro.
To heaven their prayers / Flew up, nor missed the way, by envious winds / Blown vagabond or frustrate.
1667, John Milton, “Book X”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC1 more example
Truly, the worships of the Mystery wandered as did men, and between filchings and borrowings the gods had as vagabond a time of it as did we.
1959, Jack London, The Star Rover
Synonyms & antonyms
nounOne who usually wanders from place to place, having no fixed dwelling, or not abiding in it, and usually without the means of honest livelihood.
Similar
bumstiffcasualclochardderelictderodown-and-outdown-and-outerdrifterepithitefloatergadlingJack out of doorsknight of the roadlandleaperlandloperlandloupernomadpakerpalliardpikepikerrangerroguerolling stonerough sleeperscatterlingskelderskellstrollerstumblebumswagmanswaggietoeragtramptruantwandererwaifyagger
Narrower
More synonyms by meaning
adjectivecontinually changing especially as from one abode or occupation to another
nouna wanderer who has no established residence or visible means of support
verbmove about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
Also see
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinvagari“wander”
- Late Latinvagābundus
- Old Frenchvagabond
- Englishvagabond
From Old French vagabond, from Late Latin vagābundus, from Latin vagari (“wander”). Compare moribund.
More words from Old French, Late Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Ancient Greek ἀλήτης
- ἀλήτης (alḗtēs)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Bengali ভ্যাগাবন্ড্
- ভ্যাগাবন্ড্ (bhêgabonḍ)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Bulgarian скитник, бездо́мник
- скитник (skitnik)a person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- бездо́мник (bezdómnik)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- ски́тник (skítnik)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- клоша́р (klošár)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- скитам (skitam)to roam as a vagabond
- безделнича (bezdelniča)to roam as a vagabond
- скитнически (skitničeski)Floating about
Chinese Mandarin 浪人, 流浪漢 /流浪汉
- 浪人 (làngrén)a person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- 流浪漢 /流浪汉 (liúlànghàn)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Czech tulák, vagabund
- tuláka person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- vagabunda person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
Danish vagabond, landevejsridder
- vagabonda person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- landevejsriddera person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- vagabonda bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- landevejsriddera bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- landstrygera bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- stoddera bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Dutch vagebond, zwerver
- vagebonda person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- zwervera person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- vagebonda bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- zwervera bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Esperanto vagabondo, vagulo
- vagabondoa person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- vaguloa bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- vagito roam as a vagabond
Finnish kulkuri, pummi
- kulkuria person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- pummia bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- kulkuria bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- irtolainena bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- asunnotona bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- reissatato roam as a vagabond
French vagabond, vagabonde
- vagabonda person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- vagabondea person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- vagabonda bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- vagabondea bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
German Vagabund, Landstreicher
- Vagabunda person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- Landstreichera person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- Landstreicherina person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- Vagabunda bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- Landstreichera bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- Landstreicherina bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- vagabundierento roam as a vagabond
Greek φερέοικος
- φερέοικος (feréoikos)Floating about
Hindi आवारा
- आवारा (āvārā)a person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
Hungarian vándor, csavargó
- vándora person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- csavargóa bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Icelandic umrenningur, umrenningur
- umrenningura person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- umrenningura bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Indonesian pengembara, tunawisma
- pengembaraa person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- tunawismaa bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Japanese 放浪者, 風来坊
- 放浪者 (hōrōsha)a person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- 風来坊 (fūraibō)a person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- 放浪者 (hōrōsha)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- 風来坊 (fūraibō)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- 放浪する (hōrō suru)to roam as a vagabond
- 流浪する (rurō suru)to roam as a vagabond
Latin errō, planus
- errōa bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- planusa bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Māori tipiwhenua, tipiwhenua
- tipiwhenuaa person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- tipiwhenuaa bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- kōripia bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- tipiwhenuato roam as a vagabond
Persian ولگرد
- ولگرد (velgard)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Polish włóczęga, włóczykij
- włóczęgaa person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- włóczykija person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- wagabundaa person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- włóczęgaa bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Portuguese vagabundo, andarilho
- vagabundoa person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- andarilhoa bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Romanian vagabond, vagabond
- vagabonda person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- vagabonda bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- vagabondato roam as a vagabond
Russian стра́нник, стра́нница
- стра́нник (stránnik)a person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- стра́нница (stránnica)a person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- скита́лец (skitálec)a person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- бродя́га (brodjága)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- бомж (bomž)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- скитаться (skitatʹsja)to roam as a vagabond
Spanish vagabundo, vagabundo
- vagabundoa person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- vagabundoa bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Swedish vagabond, luffare
- vagabonda person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- luffarea bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- landstrykarea bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- strövato roam as a vagabond
- luffato roam as a vagabond
- vagabonderato roam as a vagabond
Turkish avare, başıboş
- avarea person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- başıboşa person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- aylaka person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
Ukrainian волоцюга, бродяга
- волоцюга (volocjuha)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
- бродяга (brodjaha)a bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Welsh crwydryn, gŵr ar gylch
- crwydryna person on a trip of indeterminate destination and/or length of time
- gŵr ar gylcha bum, a hobo, a tramp, a homeless person
Cite this entry
APA
vagabond. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vagabond
MLA
“vagabond.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vagabond. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “vagabond,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/vagabond.
Source: vagabond on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.