stranger

noun strang·er \ ˈstrān-jər \

|Updated on: 10 Jun 2018

Examples: stranger in a Sentence

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

Toure though is no stranger to controversy or to taking offence, famously creating a stir and sparking exit rumours in 2014 after Manchester City failed to correctly celebrate his birthday.

— SI.com, "Pep Guardiola Refuses to Address Yaya Toure's Claims Regarding His Treatment of African Players," 6 June 2018
First off, no one leaves early Rodman, who played with the Pistons from 1986-1993, is no stranger to North Korea.

— detroit free press staff, Detroit Free Press, "Dennis Rodman reportedly heading to Singapore for US-North Korea summit," 5 June 2018
Styles is no stranger to Gucci, and the brand's Instagram has been teasing the collection these past few days.

— kathryn lindsay, refinery29.com, "Where Were You When Harry Styles Dropped His Gucci Photoshoot?," 4 June 2018
The books are instead filled by the monologues of friends and strangers.

— sam sacks, WSJ, "Fiction: The Monologues of Friends and Strangers," 1 June 2018
Steam, the largest online distributor of video games on the planet (which puts it in the running for largest distributor, period), is no stranger to these concerns.

— julie muncy, The Verge, "Steam’s capricious pornography rules hurt small game developers the most," 1 June 2018
Pearl River is no stranger to political skirmishes.

— bob warren, NOLA.com, "Not invited, Pearl River chief doesn't plan to attend swamp festival," 1 June 2018
For big games, the author and journalist will plant himself alone in front of a television to watch the action with thousands of friends and strangers.

— rick maese, chicagotribune.com, "NBA Twitter: A sports bar that doesn't close, where the stars pull up a seat next to you," 31 May 2018
Braun is no stranger to Columbia and has ties to both Tigers basketball programs.

— alex schiffer, kansascity, "BV Northwest player continues family legacy, joins Mizzou basketball team as walk-on," 31 May 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.

Origin and Etymology of stranger

Middle English, from Anglo-French estrangier stranger, foreigner, from estrange

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

stranger Synonyms

stranger

adjective

Definition of stranger

: of, relating to, or being a stranger : foreign

Recent Examples of stranger from the Web

Every pro sports star has signed tons and tons of autographs for fans, but some of them have signed stranger things than others.

— alysha tsuji, For The Win, "J.J. Watt's weirdest autograph: Signed pregnant woman's belly, then later met her baby," 7 Mar. 2018

First Known Use of stranger

15th century

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

stranger

verb

Definition of stranger

strangered; strangering; strangers

transitive verb

obsolete

: estrange, alienate

First Known Use of stranger

1606

in the meaning defined above

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

STRANGER Defined for English Language Learners

stranger

noun

Definition of stranger for English Language Learners

: someone who you have not met before or do not know
: someone who has not experienced something
: someone who is in a new and unfamiliar place

STRANGER Defined for Kids

stranger

noun strang·er \ ˈstrān-jər \

Definition of stranger for Students

1 : a person in a new or unfamiliar place

She is a stranger here and does not know her way around.

2 : a person whom another person does not know or has not met

Children should not talk to strangers.

Law Dictionary

stranger

noun strang·er

legal Definition of stranger

: someone who is not a party or in privity with a party (as to a contract or legal action)

may be enforced against a stranger to the contract

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See words that rhyme with stranger Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for stranger Spanish Central: Translation of stranger Nglish: Translation of stranger for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of stranger for Arabic speakers

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stranger

Definition of stranger

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stranger

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STRANGER Defined for English Language Learners

stranger

Definition of stranger for English Language Learners

STRANGER Defined for Kids

stranger

Definition of stranger for Students

Law Dictionary

stranger

legal Definition of stranger

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