1
: moving from place to place without a fixed home : wandering
2
a
: of, relating to, or characteristic of a wanderer
b
: leading an unsettled, irresponsible, or disreputable life
vagabonded; vagabonding; vagabonds
: to wander in the manner of a vagabond : roam about
Examples of vagabond in a Sentence
Noun
be wary of the vagabonds in that corner of the city
after they retired, the couple bought an RV and became footloose vagabonds
Adjective
a vagabond group of entertainers that performed in rough-and-tumble mining towns
Recent Examples on the Web
Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Strait is a veteran of the genre known for his vagabond anthems and sweet love songs.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025
Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
The coaches are no different—and have been vagabond for longer.
—Max Olson, The Athletic, 12 July 2024
Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2025
In 1978, Wenner sold the magazine to Larry Burke, a young man from Chicago who had spent a chunk of his twenties vagabonding around Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vagabond
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Noun
He was placed on waivers and claimed by the Cubs in August 1958, setting off a vagabond career in the big leagues.
—Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
Strait is a veteran of the genre known for his vagabond anthems and sweet love songs.
—Anna Kaufman, USA Today, 13 Aug. 2025
Adjective
He was placed on waivers and claimed by the Cubs in August 1958, setting off a vagabond career in the big leagues.
—Jon Paul Hoornstra, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Sep. 2025
The coaches are no different—and have been vagabond for longer.
—Max Olson, The Athletic, 12 July 2024
Verb
The jam band scene – long reigned over by groups like the Grateful Dead and the Allman Brothers Band – exploded in the Nineties as newer artists like Phish and Widespread Panic began filling arenas and fomenting their own rabid vagabonding fanbases.
—Daniel Kreps, Rolling Stone, 9 July 2025
In 1978, Wenner sold the magazine to Larry Burke, a young man from Chicago who had spent a chunk of his twenties vagabonding around Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
—Rachel Monroe, New Yorker, 18 Apr. 2025
See All Example Sentences for vagabond
Cite this Entry
“Vagabond.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/vagabond. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
vagabond
1 of 2 adjective
vag·a·bond
ˈvag-ə-ˌbänd 
: moving from place to place without a fixed home
vagabond
2 of 2 noun
: a person who leads a vagabond life
Etymology
Adjective
Middle English vagabond "moving about with no fixed home," from early French vacabund (same meaning), from Latin vagabundus (same meaning), from vagari "to wander about" — related to extravagant
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