nomad

1 of 2

noun (1)

no·​mad ˈnō-ˌmad 

1

: a member of a people who have no fixed residence but move from place to place usually seasonally and within a well-defined territory

For centuries nomads have shepherded goats, sheep, and cattle across the … semiarid grasslands …

—Discover

2

: an individual who roams about

He lived like a nomad for a few years after college, never holding a job in one place for very long.

nomad adjective

nomadism

ˈnō-ˌma-ˌdi-zəm 

noun

nomadism

2 of 2

noun (2)

no·​mad·​ism ˈnōˌmaˌdizəm 

plural -s

1

: the mode of life of a nomadic people

pastoral nomadism

2

: the mode of life or behavior of an individual that roams about aimlessly or without any fixed pattern of movement

specifically : vagrancy

sometimes a roaming instinct—the trait of nomadism—appears

—J. A. O'Brien

incidence of nomadism—about twice as frequent in the broken home group

—Nathan Blackman

Synonyms of nomad

Noun (1)

• wanderer
• traveler
• drifter
• vagabond

Examples of nomad in a Sentence

Noun (1)

He lived like a nomad for a few years after college, never holding a job in one place for very long.

after college she became quite the nomad, backpacking through Europe with no particular destination

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The documents included long and complicated legal or technical language in Chinese, some of which was orally translated into Tibetan during the signing, because many nomads who are heads of households and more than 40 years old can’t read either Chinese or Tibetan. —Sanggay Tashi, The Conversation, 11 June 2026

References to nomads of the Kazakh steppe and local symbolism abound in the label, as seen in the heavy glass bottles recalling nomads’ flasks and decorated with handmade pendants in the form of old coins engraved with the emblem of each fragrance. —Sandra Salibian, Footwear News, 9 June 2026

According to researcher Valery Kolchenko, head of the Kyrgyz contingent, while the city may have already been abandoned by then, the region’s population changed drastically following the earthquake, with medieval settlers being replaced by nomads. —Anne Doran, ARTnews.com, 8 June 2026

Case in point is the Koala Bear, which embraces the roots of the small living movement and leans into its strength as a portable home for one or two modern nomads. —Adam Williams may 24, New Atlas, 24 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun (1)

borrowed from Latin Nomades (singular Nomas), name given to various pastoral peoples, as in northern Africa or Scythia, borrowed from Greek nomádes "pastoral people who move from place to place seasonally," plural of nomad-, nomás "wanderer, shepherd," as adjective, "wandering, roaming," from nomḗ "pasturing of animals, pasture, herd" or nomós "pasture, feeding ground" (both o-ablaut derivatives of némein "to graze, pasture [animals]) + -ad-, -as, noun and adjective suffix denoting descent from or connection with — more at nimble

First Known Use

Noun (1)

1579, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing nomad

• digital nomad

Rhymes for nomad

• comrade
• dryad
• dyad
• forbad
• grandad
• granddad
• keypad
• notepad
• postgrad
• sinbad
• tetrad
• triad

Kids Definition

nomad

noun

no·​mad ˈnō-ˌmad 

1

: a member of a people that has no fixed home but wanders from place to place

2

: an individual who roams about without a goal or purpose

nomad adjective

or nomadic

nō-ˈmad-ik

nomadism

ˈnō-ˌmad-ˌiz-əm 

noun