Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

passenger

/ˈpæs.ɪn.d͡ʒɚ/

Word Rarity Uncommon

Frequency: Zipf frequency 4.38 in modern English

Syllables: pas-sen-ger
IPA: /ˈpæs.ɪn.d͡ʒɚ/

12

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

3

Syllables

7

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

One who rides or travels in a vehicle, but who does not operate it and is not a member of the crew.

noun

Somebody in a team who does not do their fair share of the work.

British usage; Informal

noun

A young hunting bird that can fly and is taken while it is still in its first year.

noun

A migratory bird, a bird of passage.

Obsolete

noun

A passer-by; a wayfarer.

Obsolete

noun

A ship carrying passengers, a ferryboat.

Obsolete

noun

A moth, Dysgonia algira

noun

Any of the individual warheads of a MIRV missile.

Example Sentences

"It is never possible to settle down to the ordinary routine of life at sea until the screw begins to revolve. There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy."
"A “moving platform” scheme[…]is more technologically ambitious than maglev trains even though it relies on conventional rails. Local trains would use side-by-side rails to roll alongside intercity trains and allow passengers to switch trains by stepping through docking bays."
"Meander, thou my faithfull Counſellor, Declare the cauſe of my conceiued griefe, Which is (God knowes) about that Tamburlaine: That like a Foxe in midſt of harueſt time, Dooth pray vppon my flockes of Passengers: […]"
"These are my mates, that make their wills their law, / Have some unhappy passenger in chase."
"[The boys] have taken possession of the turnpike road to play the before-mentioned games, to the serious inconvenience of the passengers, one of whom, a woman, was yesterday knocked down by a nurr which struck her in the head."

Etymology

From Old French passagier with intrusive n (see etymology of messenger).

Origin

Source language: Old French

Word Breakdown

Root: passagier

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈpæs.ɪn.d͡ʒɚ/
British English: /ˈpæs.ɪn.d͡ʒə/

Usage

Inflected Forms

passengers (plural) passengers (present, singular) passengering (participle, present) passengered (participle, past) passengered (past)

Derived Forms

copassenger nonpassenger passengerless preighter

Phrases

blind passenger chance passenger foot passenger non-passenger passenger car passenger compartment passenger dedicated line passenger kilometer

Frequently Paired Words

driver rider

Synonyms

inmate rider

Questions

How do you pronounce passenger?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈpæs.ɪn.d͡ʒɚ/.
What does passenger mean?: One who rides or travels in a vehicle, but who does not operate it and is not a member of the crew.
Where does passenger come from?: It is traced to Old French.

How to pronounce passenger

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “passenger”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈpæs.ɪn.d͡ʒɚ/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “passenger”.
Repeat and practice — Say “passenger” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.