as in brigand
a man especially in the past who stopped travelers on roads and robbed them
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Recent Examples of highwayman
Shortly before midnight on May 23, 1798, highwaymen just north of Dublin intercepted and set on fire a mail coach headed to Belfast.
—
Joseph Patrick Kelly, The Conversation, 20 May 2025
The sybaritic highwayman Macheath maneuvers between a cutthroat capitalist milieu (Mr. and Mrs. Peachum) and a corrupt police force (led by Tiger Brown) while seducing daughters from both worlds (Polly Peachum and Lucy Brown).
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
In the irreverent retelling of the 18th-century highwayman’s life, Turpin is the most famous but least likely of robbers, whose success is defined mostly by his charm, showmanship, and great hair.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2025
Written by Fielding, Richard Naylor and Jon Brittain, the series followed the contemptuous life of the 18th-century highwayman, known in York, England, as a thief, poacher and killer but whose exploits have been widely romanticized in modern culture.
—Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2025
Dick Turpin was an English robber and highwayman whose criminal activities gained him notoriety in the early eighteenth century.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 14 Jan. 2025
The group gets further assistance from a charming aristocratic dandy/secret highwayman named Charles Devereaux (Frank Dillane).
—Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
He is captured by Bedouin highwaymen, who plan to rob him.
—Steve Hindy, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2015
Joseph Patrick Kelly, The Conversation, 20 May 2025
The sybaritic highwayman Macheath maneuvers between a cutthroat capitalist milieu (Mr. and Mrs. Peachum) and a corrupt police force (led by Tiger Brown) while seducing daughters from both worlds (Polly Peachum and Lucy Brown).
—Alex Ross, New Yorker, 14 Apr. 2025
In the irreverent retelling of the 18th-century highwayman’s life, Turpin is the most famous but least likely of robbers, whose success is defined mostly by his charm, showmanship, and great hair.
—Jake Kanter, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2025
Written by Fielding, Richard Naylor and Jon Brittain, the series followed the contemptuous life of the 18th-century highwayman, known in York, England, as a thief, poacher and killer but whose exploits have been widely romanticized in modern culture.
—Lily Ford, The Hollywood Reporter, 16 Jan. 2025
Dick Turpin was an English robber and highwayman whose criminal activities gained him notoriety in the early eighteenth century.
—Ben Morse, CNN, 14 Jan. 2025
The group gets further assistance from a charming aristocratic dandy/secret highwayman named Charles Devereaux (Frank Dillane).
—Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
He is captured by Bedouin highwaymen, who plan to rob him.
—Steve Hindy, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2015
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highwayman
Noun
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As did most of the 4,500 caught in the region as feds traveled willy-nilly originally from their base at Naval Station Great Lakes in North Chicago, like roving bands of masked brigands seeking human loot.—
Charles Selle,
Chicago Tribune,
7 Jan. 2026
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Then rumors started spreading about armed brigands that would come to town to steal what little harvest folks had left, so towns raised militias to fight back.—
Popular Science Team,
Popular Science,
24 Sep. 2025
Noun
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The authentic Denver and Rio Grande train that has operated at Knott’s since 1952 boasts the highest crime rate in all of Orange County with the notorious Ghost Town bandits robbing every departure from the Calico Square depot.—
Brady MacDonald,
Oc Register,
21 Jan. 2026
-
Whiskey Row celebrates Prescott's Old West history, with saloons once occupied by outlaws and bandits.—
Paige Moore,
AZCentral.com,
19 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
From the days of colonists and pirates to the more modern era (of, say, bankers and lawyers servicing offshore corporations), its touristic charms have gone largely unappreciated.—
John Bowe,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Feb. 2026
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On the island’s western end, Fort Frederik is a spectacular example of an 18th-century Danish masonry fort, originally constructed to protect the natural deep-water port from pirates and rival nations.—
Condé Nast Traveler,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Miller called him an assassin on social media; Vice President JD Vance reposted the message.—
Bill Goodykoontz,
AZCentral.com,
29 Jan. 2026
-
The 384-page hardcover focuses on the game's main antagonist, crime lord Jaylen Vrax, and his intimidating assassin droid ND-5.—
Jeff Spry,
Space.com,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
Immigration and Integration Minister Rasmus Stoklund said 315 foreign criminals from countries outside the European Union had received sentences of more than a year over the last five years but were not expelled.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
31 Jan. 2026
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The Justice Department did not respond to a request for comment, but officials there have broadly defended the department’s actions as not only justified but necessary for ensuring the rule of law and holding alleged criminals to account.—
Kevin Rector,
Los Angeles Times,
31 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Her band Freda & the Firedogs, an outlaw country group, came together in 1972 as the genre was gaining traction in early ‘70s Austin.—
Mars Salazar,
Austin American Statesman,
27 Jan. 2026
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The coalition’s lawsuit also opposed other parts of Senate Bill 202, including provisions that outlaw intentionally observing a voter casting a ballot and prohibit ballot photography.—
Caleb Groves,
AJC.com,
27 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
These are desperadoes in the White House.—
Anne Thompson,
IndieWire,
26 Nov. 2025
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And sometimes the best care is not bringing in a bunch of — as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar put it — a throbbing scum of fame-hungry desperados.—
Andy Greene,
Rolling Stone,
31 July 2025
Noun
-
The committee voted to fully fund payments to jails, which have housed some offenders as a backup, and for medical payments.—
The Denver Post,
Denver Post,
31 Jan. 2026
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An Illinois man faces child pornography charges in Waukesha County under a new Wisconsin law that aims to punish offenders who use artificial intelligence to generate explicit images.—
Chris Ramirez,
jsonline.com,
30 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Highwayman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highwayman. Accessed 7 Feb. 2026.
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