itinerant

adjective itin·er·ant \ ī-ˈti-nə-rənt \

|Updated on: 1 Jun 2018

Examples: itinerant in a Sentence

Editor's Note: Did You Know?

Definition of itinerant

: traveling from place to place; especially : covering a circuit

itinerant preacher

—

itinerant

noun

—

itinerantly

adverb

See itinerant defined for English-language learners

See itinerant defined for kids

itinerant was our Word of the Day on 09/10/2013. Hear the podcast!

Examples of itinerant in a Sentence

an itinerant musician can see a lot of the world

Recent Examples of itinerant from the Web

Stockman is putting together an indigo block printing summer solstice party at her compound in Joshua Tree, while Kaminski has more itinerant plans.

— madeleine luckel, Vogue, "Summer DIY Inspiration From Women Artisans Who Have Turned Their Crafts Into Serious Business," 24 May 2018
He was born to itinerant farm workers in Sacramento in the 1930s.

— alex prewitt, SI.com, "The Crane Kick Is Bogus: A Karate Kid Oral History," 1 May 2018
And according to the family lore, Bill, then an itinerant worker, rode the rails to Boston and slept on a pool table the night before the race.

— patrick l. kennedy, Smithsonian, "When “Bricklayer Bill” Won the 1917 Boston Marathon, It Was a Victory For All Irish Americans," 14 Apr. 2018
Photo: Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum/Bridgeman Images Renaissance Woman By Ramie Targoff Farrar, Straus & Giroux, 342 pages, $30 For one who had contemplated joining a convent, Colonna led a remarkably itinerant life.

— cammy brothers, WSJ, "‘Renaissance Woman’ Review: A Lady of Letters," 27 Apr. 2018
Brandon Jennings is no stranger to the itinerant life of a basketball player.

— matt velazquez, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Brandon Jennings reunites with the Milwaukee Bucks on a 10-day contract," 11 Mar. 2018
Anchovies from Cantabia, Spain, are laid out on the plate with a nub of soft butter and slices of bread from Heller, who used to run the itinerant bakery Leo's Bread.

— todd a. price, NOLA.com, "Echo's Pizza in Mid-City delivers delicious simplicity: First look review," 24 Apr. 2018
The itinerant nature of DNA has serious implications for forensic investigations.

— katie worth, WIRED, "Framed for Murder By His Own DNA," 19 Apr. 2018
The hearing on Ordinance 786-18, amending the municipal code on itinerant dealers, peddlers and solicitors, lasted more than an hour.

— david anderson, The Aegis, "Standing room-only crowd for Bel Air food truck hearing," 17 Apr. 2018

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

Did You Know?

In Latin, iter means "way" or "journey." That root was the parent of the Late Latin verb itinerari, meaning "to journey." It was that verb which ultimately gave rise to today's English word for traveling types: "itinerant." The linguistic grandsire, "iter," also contributed to the development of other words in our vocabulary, including "itinerary" ("the route of a journey" and "the plan made for a journey") and "errant" ("traveling or given to traveling").

Origin and Etymology of itinerant

Late Latin itinerant-, itinerans, present participle of itinerari to journey, from Latin itiner-, iter journey, way; akin to Hittite itar way, Latin ire to go — more at issue

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: circa 1576

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year