stranger

noun strang·er \ ˈstrān-jər \

Updated on: 16 Apr 2018

Definition of stranger

1 : one who is strange: such as

a (1) : foreigner

(2) : a resident alien

b : one in the house of another as a guest, visitor, or intruder

c : a person or thing that is unknown or with whom one is unacquainted

d : one who does not belong to or is kept from the activities of a group

e : one not privy or party to an act, contract, or title : one that interferes without right

2 : one ignorant of or unacquainted with someone or something

See stranger defined for English-language learners

See stranger defined for kids

Examples of stranger in a Sentence

Children are taught not to talk to strangers.
He is a complete stranger to me.
“Excuse me. Do you know where the library is?” “I'm sorry. I'm a stranger here myself.”
I'm a stranger to the area.

Recent Examples of stranger from the Web

Essential stories from WIRED’s canon Way back in 2014, when the sharing economy was still new, WIRED's Jason Tanz took a close look at how Silicon Valley convinced us all to give up our privacy and propriety and trust the strangers.

— aarian marshall, WIRED, "This Week in the Future of Cars: Sharing Spaces," 13 Apr. 2018
Charley will meet strangers along the way (Steve Zahn is good as a homeless man who helps Charley find temporary work), and tragedy.

— bill goodykoontz, azcentral, "Charlie Plummer plays an everyday hero in unsparing 'Lean on Pete'," 12 Apr. 2018
The stranger asked Henry to come up with an alias for him.

— hannah dreier, Daily Intelligencer, "The Betrayal of Triste," 2 Apr. 2018
But of course French politics is no stranger to allegations of and indeed convictions for financial corruption.

— nick hewlett, The New Republic, "Nicolas Sarkozy and the Weakness of Liberal Democracy," 27 Mar. 2018
Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Michael Bennett is no stranger to controversy, but on Friday, the 32-year-old Pro Bowler was hit with an unusual accusation: A Harris County (Texas) grand jury indicted Bennett for injuring a 66-year-old paraplegic.

— michael mccann, SI.com, "What Michael Bennett's Indictment Means and Will It Impact His NFL Career?," 23 Mar. 2018
Photos and videos of friends, neighbors, co-workers and complete strangers who drew inspiration from her message.

— charlotteobserver, "This young mom had a date to get her foot amputated – and 7 long weeks to dread it. | Charlotte Observer," 21 Mar. 2018
The strangers reportedly stepped in as Christian berated two minority teens.

— aimee green, OregonLive.com, "Criminal case dropped against woman who grabbed pro-Trump hat from man's head," 20 Mar. 2018
Tolbert said Moore was fine and the stranger drove away, court documents said.

— becky jacobs, Post-Tribune, "Man accused of running over the mother of his children makes first court appearance," 15 Mar. 2018

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