cruise

1 of 2

verb

cruised; cruising

intransitive verb

1
: to sail about touching at a series of ports
2
: to move or proceed speedily, smoothly, or effortlessly
I'll cruise over to her house to see if she's home
3
: to travel without destination or purpose
4
a
: to go about the streets at random but on the lookout for possible developments
the cabdriver cruised for an hour before being hailed
b
: to search (as in public places) for a sexual partner
5
a
of an airplane : to fly at the most efficient operating speed
b
of an automobile : to travel at a speed suitable for being maintained for a long distance

transitive verb

1
: to cruise over or about
2
: to inspect (land) with reference to possible lumber yield
3
a
: to search in (a public place) for a sexual partner
b
: to approach and suggest sexual relations to
4
: to explore or search the offerings of
especially : surf
cruise the Internet

cruise

2 of 2

noun

: an act or an instance of cruising
especially : a tour by ship

Examples of cruise in a Sentence

Verb We cruised for a week down the Yangtze River. He dreams of cruising the Mediterranean. The bus was cruising at 55 miles per hour. We were cruising along the highway. The plane was cruising at 30,000 feet. On Friday nights, teenagers cruise the main street in town to show off their cars. A car cruised past us. Noun We went on a weeklong cruise down the Yangtze River. They went on a cruise for their honeymoon.
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
The event raised a record-setting $10.8 million, cruising past the previous high total set in 2022 by more than $1 million. Rance Collins, Variety, 11 Mar. 2024 Subaru owners cruise past plenty of vehicles stuck in the snow. James Raia, The Mercury News, 10 Mar. 2024 Coyle: This race has been a lock for months, making Randolph all but certain to cruise to her first Academy Award. Jake Coyle and Lindsey Bahr, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 Mar. 2024 The aircraft has a cruising speed of just 160 knots and a range of approximately 775 nautical miles. Daniel Cote, Robb Report, 7 Mar. 2024 Few things scream Miami quite like renting a boat (captain included) and cruising around the city, wind in your hair, sea salt on your skin. Jessica Poitevien, Travel + Leisure, 4 Mar. 2024 The Salty Dawg Sailing Association said in a statement that a cruising skipper contacted the group on Feb. 21 to report that the Simplicity was moored and abandoned off the south coast of St. Vincent. Justin Jouvenal, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 At a cruising speed of 12 knots Eternal Spark has a range of 5,000 nautical miles at half load. Kathleen Turner, Forbes, 26 Feb. 2024 The pair have been identified by their sailing club as Kathy Brandel and Ralph Hendry, a couple from Virginia who were spending the winter cruising the Eastern Caribbean after sailing their yacht, Simplicity, from Hampton, Virginia, to Antigua. Sharif Paget, CNN, 26 Feb. 2024
Noun
There were shots from the French Riviera, presumably on the traditional cruise Naval Academy graduates took. Petula Dvorak, Washington Post, 11 Mar. 2024 Passholders can choose from four different cruises in June, July, August, and September. Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 8 Mar. 2024 Wyden asserted in a letter to Crow’s lawyer that there’s no evidence the yacht has been registered as a charter vessel, but instead has been used for pleasure cruises by Crow, his family and his guests. Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 7 Mar. 2024 The cruise began its voyage in South Florida, later stopping in Aruba, Curacao and Haiti. Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 5 Mar. 2024 Aside from Cunard’s Southampton to New York service, travelers seeking a transatlantic cruise are mostly left with world cruises or lengthy grand voyages, but there is another option. David Nikel, Forbes, 29 Feb. 2024 Accor isn’t the only big name getting into the cruise game, either. Demetrius Simms, Robb Report, 28 Feb. 2024 Guests can currently make a future cruise request for a stateroom on this cruise by contacting World Cruise Reservations: 1-800-522-3399. Dan Koday, Travel + Leisure, 29 Feb. 2024 So much had changed in the cruise industry and our company over that 30-year period. Sheryl Estrada, Fortune, 27 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cruise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Dutch kruisen to make a cross, cruise, from Middle Dutch crucen, from crūce cross, from Latin cruc-, crux

First Known Use

Verb

1651, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

Noun

1696, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of cruise was in 1651

Dictionary Entries Near cruise

Cite this Entry

“Cruise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruise. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

cruise

verb
ˈkrüz
cruised; cruising
1
: to travel by boat often stopping at a series of ports
2
: to travel for enjoyment
3
: to travel at the best operating speed
the cruising speed of an airplane
cruise noun
Etymology

Verb

from Dutch kruisen "to cruise, move crosswise," from early Dutch crūce "cross," from Latin crux "cross" — related to cross, crucial

More from Merriam-Webster on cruise

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