vagabond
n. countablen. a person who travels from place to place without a home or a job. You often use this word for someone who moves around a lot and does not have a fixed address.
n. a person who wanders from place to place without a permanent home or job. Often carries a slightly negative or romanticised connotation depending on the context.
The old vagabond told stories by the campfire.
After losing his job, he became a vagabond, traveling across the country by train and sleeping in parks.
The novel follows the journey of a modern-day vagabond who seeks to find meaning in a world that increasingly demands stability and permanent residence.
From Old French vagabond, from Late Latin vagābundus, from Latin vagari (“wander”). Compare moribund. Etymology tree Old French vagabondder. English vagabond
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Last updated May 26, 2026