pilgrim

noun

pil·​grim ˈpil-grəm 

1

: one who journeys in foreign lands : wayfarer

2

: one who travels to a shrine or holy place as a devotee

3

Pilgrim : one of the English colonists settling at Plymouth in 1620

Examples of pilgrim in a Sentence

Thousands of Muslim pilgrims traveled to Mecca.

Recent Examples on the Web

The cowardly strike on civilians—some of whom were religious pilgrims—took the lives of at least 14 people and injured more than 300. — Brian Sullivan, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026

In the Vatican, some pilgrims were worried, hopeful and a little disappointed. — Claudio Lavanga, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026

Amplifying Saudi public and official anger is the fact that the majority of those killed Saturday were Muslim pilgrims on their way to Mecca. — Taylor Luck, Christian Science Monitor, 13 Oct. 2026

And at least one online platform built for Jewish and Christian visitors to Israel uses AI to generate custom itineraries for potential pilgrims. — Shay Rabineau, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French pelerin, pilegrin, from Late Latin pelegrinus, alteration of Latin peregrinus foreigner, from peregrinus, adjective, foreign, from peregri abroad, from per through + agr-, ager land — more at for, acre

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing pilgrim

• pilgrim bottle

Kids Definition

pilgrim

noun

pil·​grim ˈpil-grəm 

1

: one who journeys in foreign lands : traveler

2

: a person who travels to a shrine or holy place to worship

3

capitalized : one of the English colonists who founded the first permanent settlement in New England at Plymouth in 1620