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 site near the Spanish border draws millions of pilgrims each year, especially sick and disabled believers hoping for a cure from the famed spring water in the Lourdes grotto where the visions purportedly occurred. — Arkansas Online, 28 Sep. 2026

Many pilgrims in neighboring Iran visit sites such as Karbala and Najaf. — ABC News, 25 Sep. 2026

Campers were beginning to gather; here or there a phone lit a face out of the night like a pilgrim in a tenebrist tableau. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 22 Sep. 2026

For pizza pilgrims and locals simply looking for a dinner spot that will wow out-of-towners, there's no better reason to hop over the Hudson. — Kat Chen, Condé Nast Traveler, 21 Sep. 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