Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun A person who travels in a conveyance, such as a car or train, without participating in its operation.
- noun Informal A person who participates only passively in an activity.
- noun A wayfarer or traveler.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun One who passes or is on his way; a passer-by; a wayfarer; a traveler.
- noun One who travels in a public conveyance; especially, one who travels in such a conveyance by virtue of a contract express or implied with the carrier, as the payment of fare, or something accepted as an equivalent therefor.
- noun A bird of passage; a casual visitor.
- noun A passage-boat.
- noun In a boat-race, one of the crew who adds to the weight of the boat without doing his share of the work; hence, an ineffective member of a football-team, etc.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun A passer or passer-by; a wayfarer.
- noun A traveler by some established conveyance, as a coach, steamboat, railroad train, etc.
- noun (Zoöl.) a migratory hawk.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun One who
rides ortravels in atrain ,motor vehicle ,boat ,ship ,ferry ,hovercraft ,aircraft , etc., but who does not operate it and is not a member of thecrew . - noun falconry A young
hunting bird that can fly and is taken while it is still in its first year. - verb intransitive To ride as a passenger in a vehicle.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun a traveler riding in a vehicle (a boat or bus or car or plane or train etc) who is not operating it
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word passenger.
Examples
-
Sure, the other passenger is a freeloader who shares the benefit undeservedly, but so what?
-
As the Journal points out “airline clerks have no way of knowing why a passenger is a selectee.”
Balkinization 2007
-
As the Journal points out “airline clerks have no way of knowing why a passenger is a selectee.”
Balkinization 2007
-
As the Journal points out “airline clerks have no way of knowing why a passenger is a selectee.”
Balkinization 2007
-
As the Journal points out “airline clerks have no way of knowing why a passenger is a selectee.”
Balkinization 2007
-
As the Journal points out “airline clerks have no way of knowing why a passenger is a selectee.”
Balkinization 2007
-
As the Journal points out “airline clerks have no way of knowing why a passenger is a selectee.”
Balkinization 2007
-
As the Journal points out “airline clerks have no way of knowing why a passenger is a selectee.”
Balkinization 2007
-
As the Journal points out “airline clerks have no way of knowing why a passenger is a selectee.”
Balkinization 2007
-
As the Journal points out “airline clerks have no way of knowing why a passenger is a selectee.”
Balkinization 2007
-
I realized how much she let's me think I'm in charge of when we travel, while she's the one actually running the whole show. I'm really just a passenger princess when she's around.
Bluesky 2025
-
When I first heard about it, women all over were saying they want nothing more than to be a passenger princess i believe it was an extension of the term “pillow princess”. Now guys are looking for a girl who will be their passenger princess so they can grip their thigh as they drive or hold their hand. Guess men just want company on the road
What’s with guys and finding a passenger princess? Is this just a way to subtly say you have a car? never_alone686 2025
-
Whether it’s catching up on work, reading a book, applying makeup, catching up on emails, or just enjoying a moment of downtime, the passenger princess prioritizes her time and comfort over the act of driving.
The Impact of Being a Passenger Princess - A Girls Guide to Cars 2025
Comments
Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.