1,400 new words in our dictionary! — Parasocial, glow-up, promposal & more
1,400 new words in our dictionary! — More

highwayman

noun

Definition of highwaymannext
as in brigand
a man especially in the past who stopped travelers on roads and robbed them

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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 Dee is in his Springheel Jack costume, since London bobbies of that era would rather work with a mythical highwayman than a real Chinese man. — Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor, 1 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highwayman
  1. brigand
  2. bandit
  3. pirate
  4. assassin
  5. criminal
  6. outlaw
  7. desperado
  8. offender
Noun
  • Their captors beset by these foreign brigands, Larys and Aegon manage to escape.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • That’s the state Supergirl is in when she is dragged into a local dispute on some far-off planet, defending the honor of an orphaned teenage girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley); her parents were murdered by a brigand named Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026
Definition of brigand
Noun
  • Goaded on by a governor, who handpicked the university president and staged a coup to overthrow one athletic director in order to hire Kiffin, the bayou bandits are proudly wearing their black hats.
    — Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Leonard, who made tens of millions in off-the-books, no-show endorsements, made out like a bandit with this settlement, especially since his $51 million contract for the coming season was not voided.
    — John Hollinger, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of bandit
Noun
  • Within hours, their yacht vanishes, Matt is abducted by a gang of ruthless pirates led by Langbore (Copley), and paradise becomes a trap.
    — Alex Ritman, Variety, 14 Sep. 2026
  • Bloom played the dashing blacksmith Will Turner, who teams up with the eccentric pirate Captain Jack Sparrow (Depp) to save his forever love, Elizabeth Swann (Knightley) from a gang of raucous, rival pirates.
    — Ryan Coleman, Entertainment Weekly, 13 Sep. 2026
Definition of pirate
Noun
  • Across Greengrass’ three Bourne movies, the elite assassin turns against the clandestine institution that created him, determined to escape its grip and bring its covert operations to light.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 10 Sep. 2026
  • Before Atlanta, the girls weren’t judged as heavily based on their reads or confessional assassin abilities.
    — Ile-Ife Okantah, Vulture, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of assassin
Noun
  • Victims who clicked those ads were redirected to fake banking websites controlled by the criminals, according to the DOJ.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 20 Sep. 2026
  • Trump, his family and his wealthy cronies are criminals spending taxpayers’ money and taking it with their underhanded deals with our enemies.
    — Voice of the People, New York Daily News, 18 Sep. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • Lefty played a number of shows at CMA Fest, and on Monday was announced as one of the performers at Stagecoach 2027, with her name on the same line of the poster as Shaboozey and outlaw-country songwriter Cody Jinks.
    — Marissa R. Moss, Rolling Stone, 15 Sep. 2026
  • Is that something the NFL could consider and outlaw/tell officials to clamp down on midseason?
    — Matt Barrows, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of outlaw
Noun
  • The Cougars are one-score favorites, but anything goes in the desperado Big 12.
    — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Crowds of the curious milled through the gloomy building, seeking to view the body of the most notorious desperado of the year.
    — Cassidy Alexander, AJC.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of desperado
Noun
  • If the offender comes closer than a kilometre, the app notifies police; probation authorities will then call the victim to establish their safety and can dispatch officers to the area.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 16 Sep. 2026
  • Tallman is named the victim in the report, but an offender isn’t mentioned.
    — Katelyn Umholtz, Kansas City Star, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of offender

Browse Nearby Words

highway
highwayman
highwaymen
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Highwayman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highwayman. Accessed 21 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of elegiac

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary

Words from the 'Odyssey'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 18
See More

Popular

See More

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Back to School Vocabulary
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
crayons-in-a-circle
Guess the Color Quiz Questions that use the whole box of crayons.
See All