Tourist Meaning: Definition and Examples

Meaning 1：pleasure traveler (tourist)

tourist 🔊

/ˈtʊrɪst/

A person who visits a place for pleasure, usually for a short time, and does not live there.

Happy tourist family taking photo at Eiffel Tower landmark

pleasure traveler 🔊

➕

/ˈplɛʒər ˈtrævələr/

A person who visits a place for enjoyment, usually for a short duration, without residing there permanently.

📁 Category：Transportation & Travel 🔖 Level：elementary

📘 Details & Usage

📖 Root Explanation

From 'tour' (journey) + '-ist' (a person who does something), meaning a person who travels for pleasure.

💡 Mnemonic

Think 'tour' + 'list': a tourist carries a list of sights to see.

📖 Example

The city center was filled with tourists taking photos of the historic buildings and trying local street food. 🔊 The city center was filled with tourists taking photos of the historic buildings and trying local street food.

🔗 Collocations

tourist attraction – a place that tourists visit

tourist destination – a location people travel to for vacation

tourist guide – a person who shows tourists around or a book/map

🔄 Synonyms

traveler (n.) – a person who goes on a journey

visitor (n.) – a person who visits a place

sightseer (n.) – a person who visits places of interest

🚫 Antonyms

local (n.) – a person who lives in a particular place

resident (n.) – a person who lives somewhere permanently

native (n.) – a person born in a specified place

🌱 Derivatives

tourism (n.) – the commercial organization and operation of holidays and visits to places of interest

touristic (adj.) – relating to or designed for tourists

touristy (adj.) – appealing to or used by tourists, often in a slightly negative sense

📖 Cultural Story

Originated from French 'touriste' in the early 19th century, derived from 'tour' (a journey). The term gained popularity with the rise of leisure travel during the Industrial Revolution.