\ ˈkrüz 
\
\cruised; cruising
Definition of cruise
(Entry 1 of 2)
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
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
cruise
nounDefinition of cruise (Entry 2 of 2)
: an act or an instance of cruising especially : a tour by ship
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Synonyms for cruise
Synonyms: Verb
- bat,
- drift,
- float,
- gad (about),
- gallivant
- (also galavant),
- kick around,
- knock (about),
- maunder,
- meander,
- mooch,
- ramble,
- range,
- roam,
- rove,
- traipse,
- wander
Synonyms: Noun
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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.
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Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Brady has a big first half, and the Buccaneers cruise to playoffs.
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Los Angeles Times, "NFL Week 17 picks: Washington wins and makes playoffs; Rams top Cardinals," 1 Jan. 2021 Before the pandemic, thousands of tourists, mostly European, filled the riverboats that regularly cruise through the sanctuary, hoping to catch a glimpse of its wild residents.
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Yao-hua Law, The Atlantic, "Helmeted Hornbills Are Very Picky About Their Nests," 16 Dec. 2020 Those looking for an eensy-weensy EV to cruise around Tokyo don’t fret, as the automaker intends to offer the vehicle to consumers by 2022.
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Roberto Baldwin, Car and Driver, "Toyota Eases into EVs with an Ultra-Compact Two-Seater for Japan," 28 Dec. 2020 Travelers crunched for time can opt for a shorter 121-day journey, joining the boat in Los Angeles just in time to cruise to Hawaii, Australia, and New Zealand before heading to Asia and eventually Europe.
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Meena Thiruvengadam, Travel + Leisure, "Viking Is Planning an Epic 28-country World Cruise for 2022," 21 Dec. 2020 The bomber tucked six General Electric J93-GE 3 turbojet engines into a wide, flat fuselage, giving the plane the ability to cruise at 2,000 miles per hour (Mach 3) at an altitude of 72,000 feet.
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Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "The XB-70 Valkyrie Bomber Could've Been a Mach 3 Passenger Jet," 27 Nov. 2020 Polls suggest that Ardern's center-left Labour Party and its likely coalition partner, the left-wing Green Party, should cruise to victory.
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Julia Hollingsworth, CNN, "Judith Collins, the woman taking on juggernaut Jacinda Ardern in New Zealand's election," 15 Oct. 2020 As a 30-point favorite, the Tide is expected to cruise.
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Charles Hollis, al, "Vols struggling, offense a mess, Auburn should cruise," 20 Nov. 2020 Still, Myanmar’s leader Aung San Suu Kyi is widely expected to cruise to victory, with the pandemic dampening the chances of her facing a reckoning at the polls.
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Fortune, "China’s 2020 election ‘indicator’ showed a closer race than U.S. polling," 5 Nov. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Noun According to The Sun, the British tabloid that leaked the audio, Cruise paid $676,000 for a cruise ship that would allow the cast and crew to isolate.
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Shirley Li, The Atlantic, "The Issue With Tom Cruise’s COVID-19 Rant," 18 Dec. 2020 One unique dining option coming will be Emeril’s Bistro 1396 from Celebrity Chef Emeril Lagasse, who is taking his first stab at a cruise ship venue.
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Richard Tribou, orlandosentinel.com, "Carnival Cruise Line takes delivery of Port Canaveral-bound ship Mardi Gras," 18 Dec. 2020 Still, my writer wife and I were fortunate that we didn’t get caught up in the cruise ship virus spin.
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David G. Molyneaux, cleveland, "My year without travel: Long-time Cleveland travel writer reflects on a pandemic year of staying close to home," 17 Dec. 2020 Visitors can also take a harbor cruise or paddle a Swan Boat in the Public Garden lagoon.
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Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, "6 Best East Coast Road Trips for Fascinating History, Beautiful Beaches, and Delicious Seafood," 8 Aug. 2020 Last week, a Covid-19 scare aboard a cruise ship prompted by an incorrect positive diagnosis forced an early end to an ongoing trip.
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Philip Heijmans, Bloomberg.com, "Singapore to Ease Virus Rules on Dec. 28, Beginning ‘Phase 3’," 14 Dec. 2020 Roughly 900 of Australia’s cases were linked to passengers who had been allowed to leave a cruise ship that docked in Sydney in March.
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Rhiannon Hoyle, WSJ, "Shutting Borders Helped Australia Contain Covid-19. Now Reopening Them Is Proving Difficult.," 12 Dec. 2020 The exhibit was slated to open next year, but Lord and her colleagues were suddenly reading reports of a virus that had surfaced in China and that was beginning to blossom around the globe: on a cruise ship in Yokohama, at ski resorts in France.
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Andrew Dickson, The New Yorker, "How Will We Tell the Story of the Coronavirus?," 9 Dec. 2020 The cruise ship and Australia shows had already been called off.
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Alex Marshall, New York Times, "‘Six’ Tries to Get Back Onstage. Again, and Again, and Again.," 9 Dec. 2020
See MoreThese 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.
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More Definitions for cruise
cruise
verbEnglish Language Learners Definition of cruise
(Entry 1 of 2)
: to travel on a boat or ship to a number of places as a vacation
of a car, airplane, etc. : to move along at a steady speed
: to drive or be driven slowly
cruise
nounEnglish Language Learners Definition of cruise (Entry 2 of 2)
: a journey on a boat or ship to a number of places as a vacation
See the full definition for cruise in the English Language Learners Dictionary
cruise
verb\ ˈkrüz \
\cruised; cruising
Kids Definition of cruise
(Entry 1 of 2)
1 : to travel by ship often stopping at a series of ports
They cruised along the coast.
2 : to travel at a steady pace
cruise
nounKids Definition of cruise (Entry 2 of 2)
: a trip on a ship
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Comments on cruise
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Time Traveler for cruise
The first known use of cruise was in 1651
See more words from the same year