motorist

noun

mo·​tor·​ist ˈmō-tə-rist 

: a person who travels by automobile

Synonyms of motorist

• driver

Examples of motorist in a Sentence

When our car broke down, we were helped by a passing motorist.

environmental organizations suggest that motorists get together and carpool to avoid adding to pollution levels

Recent Examples on the Web

Overnight, motorists were seen driving gingerly in the Avondale neighborhood as heavy rain and strong winds clobbered the streets. — Darius Johnson, CBS News, 10 Aug. 2026

The Kodiak Driver is engineered to be a safe and cautious driver and to follow normal driving etiquette, so other motorists should not notice anything unusual. — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 10 Aug. 2026

The motorist was not injured, but the vehicle was struck by gunfire. — Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 8 Aug. 2026

That’s due to tougher rules on factories, power plants and vehicles that began when Ronald Reagan was governor, along with smog-check requirements for motorists, cleaner-burning diesel and gasoline blends and incentives for electric vehicles. — Paul Rogers, Mercury News, 7 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1896, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

motorist

noun

mo·​tor·​ist ˈmōt-ə-rəst 

: a person who travels by automobile