1
: moving from place to place without a fixed home : wandering
2
a
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a wanderer
b
: leading an unsettled, irresponsible, or disreputable life
vagabonded; vagabonding; vagabonds
: to wander in the manner of a vagabond : roam about
Synonyms
Examples of vagabond in a Sentence
Noun
be wary of the vagabonds in that corner of the city
after they retired, the couple bought an RV and became footloose vagabonds
Adjective
a vagabond group of entertainers that performed in rough-and-tumble mining towns
Recent Examples on the Web
The Week Us, theweek, 5 Nov. 2024
The Vikings, meanwhile, are 2-0 thanks in large part to the hot start of vagabond quarterback Sam Darnold.
—Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 20 Sep. 2024
Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2021
By modern standards, Wray's story feels like rock and roll lore that edges on pulp: As a child, he was raised in poverty in Dunn, North Carolina, and learned to play guitar from a vagabond bluesman named Hambone.
—Colin Stutz, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2017
Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023
Providing different perspectives are a vagabonding Swedish artist and his British wife as well as an Aboriginal wrangler called Billy, whose skill as a cricket batsman has blighted his connection to his family traditions.
—Alida Becker, New York Times, 5 May 2023
See all Example Sentences for vagabond 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Noun
After a mother commits suicide, the care of her daughters eventually falls to Aunt Sylvie, a mysterious vagabond, who tries to give them a conventional upbringing.
—The Week Us, theweek, 5 Nov. 2024
The Vikings, meanwhile, are 2-0 thanks in large part to the hot start of vagabond quarterback Sam Darnold.
—Jim Reineking, USA TODAY, 20 Sep. 2024
Adjective
There are records of albatrosses spending decades living as vagabond singletons in the wrong hemisphere, Lees said.
—Arkansas Online, 7 Nov. 2021
By modern standards, Wray's story feels like rock and roll lore that edges on pulp: As a child, he was raised in poverty in Dunn, North Carolina, and learned to play guitar from a vagabond bluesman named Hambone.
—Colin Stutz, Billboard, 10 Oct. 2017
Verb
As a vagabonding aviator, Zdarsky flew his trike around Joshua Tree and Death Valley, and even over 14,505-foot-tall Mount Whitney in the Sierra Nevada range, nearly freezing himself in the process.
—Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Aug. 2023
Providing different perspectives are a vagabonding Swedish artist and his British wife as well as an Aboriginal wrangler called Billy, whose skill as a cricket batsman has blighted his connection to his family traditions.
—Alida Becker, New York Times, 5 May 2023
See all Example Sentences for vagabond
Dictionary Entries Near vagabond
Cite this Entry
“Vagabond.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vagabond. Accessed 24 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
vagabond
1 of 2 adjective
vag·a·bond
ˈvag-ə-ˌbänd 
: moving from place to place without a fixed home
vagabond
2 of 2 noun
: a person who leads a vagabond life
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English vagabond "moving about with no fixed home," from early French vacabund (same meaning), from Latin vagabundus (same meaning), from vagari "to wander about" — related to extravagant
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share