vagrant

1 of 2

noun

va·​grant ˈvā-grənt How to pronounce vagrant (audio)
1
a
: one who has no established residence and wanders idly from place to place without lawful or visible means of support
b
: one (such as a prostitute or drunkard) whose conduct constitutes statutory vagrancy
2
3
: an animal wandering outside its normal geographic range
especially : a bird found outside its normal geographic range or migration route : accidental
California gulls have turned up as vagrants in other nearby states, including New York, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Pete Bacinski and Scott Barnes

vagrant

2 of 2

adjective

1
a
: wandering about from place to place usually with no means of support
b
of an animal : wandering outside its normal geographic range
especially, of a bird : found outside its normal geographic range or migration route : accidental sense 3
2
a
: having a fleeting, wayward, or inconstant quality
a vagrant impulse
b
: having no fixed course : random
a vagrant breeze
vagrantly adverb

Examples of vagrant in a Sentence

Noun a part of the city that attracts many vagrants vagrants sleeping in cardboard boxes on the sidewalk Adjective bands of vagrant children in the streets of the impoverished city
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
As a result of the new law, police on Thursday established several drug free zones, including in Chinatown, where residents and business owners have long complained about drug peddlers and vagrants congregating in the area around Capital One Arena. Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post, 15 Mar. 2024 Simply run vagrant up with your configuration file, and voila!—no need to struggle with VMBox’s weird Java GUI. Jason Marlin & Lee Hutchinson, Ars Technica, 2 Aug. 2023 The judges said the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment prohibits cities from arresting or imposing penalties on homeless people for squatting on public property if there aren’t enough shelter beds for every vagrant. The Editorial Board, WSJ, 12 Jan. 2024 Democratic Los Angeles City Councilman Kevin de León accused leftists of bribing vagrants to reject the city’s offer of temporary shelter. Allysia Finley, WSJ, 31 Dec. 2023 This year, many different vagrants have been spotted in the U.S., creating what can be once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for bird watchers to see them. Sarah Kuta, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Dec. 2023 Contrary to assumptions blasted across the internet, the defendant was not a robber nor a vagrant, but a fellow member of the local tech industry, Nima Momeni, a 38-year-old who ran an IT consultancy firm and knew Lee. Albert Samaha, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2023 Finally, in his 47th year of birding, Fischer saw his first varied thrush, a vagrant that spent five days in December 2013 at Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan. Joe Trezza, New York Times, 26 Aug. 2023 Those in the program are guaranteed only one face-to-face contact with a caseworker per month, even as drug users, pushers and vagrants frequent their buildings through front doors with broken locks. Steve Thompson, Washington Post, 8 Aug. 2023
Adjective
Every migrant, vagrant and endangered species apparently needs an advocate. Allysia Finley, WSJ, 31 Dec. 2023 Still, scientists don’t have a clear reason why these younger birds would leave more up to the wind, or how small errors could compound and lead to a vagrant bird. Maddie Bender, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Nov. 2023 Beyond the initial rush of birders packing restaurants and accommodations, the draw of vagrant birds could turn avian enthusiasts into repeat visitors, with long-term economic benefits. Marina Wang, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Aug. 2022 The two fall in love and a decade-and-a-half romance ensues, the only on-screen civility to be seen in an otherwise vagrant and collapsed society. Allison Hope, CNN, 10 Feb. 2023 Alternatively, some scientists think vagrant birds like Stella could be the pioneers of a species exploring new habitats. Marina Wang, Smithsonian Magazine, 23 Aug. 2022 Some reports described him as a vagrant; others labeled him a drug dealer. James E. Causey, jsonline.com, 20 Apr. 2022 English roads teemed with men turned vagrant by penury; Spain was on the cusp of war. Washington Post, 30 Dec. 2021 The commissioner had heard screaming, looked outside and saw a father pushing a baby in a stroller accompanied by another toddler moving away from a person the witness described as a vagrant, who was following them with a brick, Krepp said. Washington Post, 19 Dec. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'vagrant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English vageraunt, vagraunt, borrowed from Anglo-French vageraunt, from present participle of vagrer "to wander about," probably blend of vaguer "to be unoccupied, wander about" (borrowed from Late Latin vagāre, Latin vagārī "to wander, roam") and waucrer, wakrer "to wander about," perhaps going back to Old Low Franconian (Frankish substratum of French) *walkaran-, frequentative derivative of Germanic *walkan- "to roll, toss" — more at vagabond entry 2, walk entry 1

Adjective

Middle English vagaraunt "inclined to wander, lacking a livelihood," borrowed from Anglo-French vageraunt, waucrant, present participle of vagrer "to wander about" — more at vagrant entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Adjective

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of vagrant was in the 15th century

Dictionary Entries Near vagrant

Cite this Entry

“Vagrant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vagrant. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

vagrant

1 of 2 noun
va·​grant ˈvā-grənt How to pronounce vagrant (audio)
: a person who has no steady job and wanders from place to place

vagrant

2 of 2 adjective
1
: wandering about from place to place
2
: having no fixed course
vagrant breezes

Medical Definition

vagrant

adjective
va·​grant ˈvā-grənt How to pronounce vagrant (audio)
: having no fixed course : moving from place to place
a vagrant infection

Legal Definition

vagrant

noun
va·​grant ˈvā-grənt How to pronounce vagrant (audio)
: one who has no established residence and wanders about without lawful or identifiable means of support
vagrants may not be punished for being vagrants; only persons who commit culpable acts are liable for criminal sanctionsState v. Richard, 836 P.2d 622 (1992)
Etymology

Noun

Anglo-French wagerant vageraunt, from present participle of vagrer walcrer to wander about, drift, probably from Old Norse valka to roll, wallow

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