cruise

verb

\ˈkrüz

cruised; cruising

Definition of cruise

(Entry 1 of 2)

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

4a : 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

5a 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

3a : 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

noun

Definition of cruise (Entry 2 of 2)

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

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about cruise

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Synonyms & Antonyms for cruise

Synonyms: Verb

bowl, breeze, brush, coast, drift, flow, glide, roll, sail, skim, slide, slip, stream, sweep, whisk

Synonyms: Noun

crossing, passage, sail, voyage

Antonyms: Verb

flounder, struggle

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

According to Travel Agent Central, cruising increased 20.5 percent from 2011 to 2016. — Aditi Shrikant, Vox, "The case against cruises," 15 Nov. 2018 Kenny started her morning cruising through NYC's Soho neighborhood on a Citi Bike, then Bella hosted an apartment party for her BFF complete with guacamole, animal balloons, and a homemade cake. — Zoë Weiner, Teen Vogue, "Kendall Jenner Wore a Tiny Paper Hat for Her 23rd Birthday," 5 Nov. 2018 After 13 months cruising across the Scorpio sky, Jupiter (the planet of expansion) moves into Sagittarius for the first time since 2006. — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, "What November's Capricorn Horoscope Means for You," 28 Oct. 2018 But the road to a royal wedding has no speed limit, and Markle and Harry cruised toward destination holy matrimony (with a few speed bumps along the way). — Lynsey Eidell, Glamour, "Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Relationship: A Complete Timeline," 15 Oct. 2018 The result is that many drivers spend a large portions of their day cruising empty. — Paul Berger, WSJ, "Uber, Lyft Drivers Crowd Hearing to Support $15 Hourly Pay," 3 Oct. 2018 Likewise, the 2015 Carolina Panthers and 2009 Indianapolis Colts both started 14-0, lost meaningless games at season’s end and cruised through the playoffs. — Geoff Baker, The Seattle Times, "Sounders alone will define what their post-record winning streak legacy will be," 25 Sep. 2018 The concept was simple yet absurd: Bicyclists would cruise along inside an airtight tube while high-pressure gas created a wind pushing the cyclist from behind. — Avery Thompson, Popular Mechanics, "Google's Larry Page Wanted to Build a Gas-Powered Bike Hyperloop," 14 Sep. 2018 And there are plenty of bigger — and therefore more dangerous — space rocks cruising around out there in the dark depths, the vast majority of them unseen and unknown. — Mike Wall, Space.com, "Asteroid Billiards: This Wild Idea to Protect Earth Just Might Work," 24 Aug. 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Disney also plans to reduce other plastic products in its hotels and cruise ships as well as plastic shopping bags and styrofoam cups. — Radhika Viswanathan, Vox, "Why Starbucks, Disney, and the EU are all shunning plastic straws," 24 Oct. 2018 People now live at the South Pole, cruise ships visit the North Pole, tourists are taken on the dangerous climb to the top of Mount Everest. — Andrew Liptak, The Verge, "Read an excerpt from Kim Stanley Robinson’s next book," 18 Oct. 2018 Two of the wounded crew members were taken aboard a nearby cruise ship that responded to the captain’s distress call, and one was pronounced dead by the ship’s doctor. — Paulina Dedaj, Fox News, "Man arrested in Virginia, accused of multiple murders, is DACA recipient, source says," 28 Sep. 2018 The newest installment of the animated comedy series with old-school monster favorites sends sulky hotelier Dracula (voiced by Sandler), his friends and their families on a crazy creature cruise to the lost city of Atlantis. — Brian Truitt, USA TODAY, "Review: Vampire love abounds in silly but touching 'Hotel Transylvania 3'," 11 July 2018 In Florida, the club predicts that nearly 2.4 million state residents will travel by car, plane, bus or cruise ship, a 6.3 percent jump from 2017. — Mark Skoneki, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Orlando tops 4th of July travel destinations, AAA says," 21 June 2018 In the film, which opens today and like the others in the franchise was inspired by the Tex Avery style of animation, the vampiric Drac (Adam Sandler) reluctantly embarks on a cruise with his family. — Carolyn Giardina, The Hollywood Reporter, "'Hotel Transylvania 3' Director On Why The Animated Monster Mash Is More Than Just A "Silly Comedy"," 13 July 2018 Mistaking his loneliness for stress from running the hotel, his daughter Mavis (Selena Gomez) surprises him with a vacation on a monster cruise in the Bermuda Triangle (of course). — Kimber Walsh, latimes.com, "Review: 'Hotel Transylvania 3: Summer Vacation' hits the open seas with its creature comforts intact," 12 July 2018 The newlywed couple was reportedly on a cruise that stopped in the popular tourist destination, about 160 miles from Tegucigalpa. — Fox News, "Honeymooning couple collide in fatal zip line accident," 11 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'cruise.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.