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 latter seemed to be a proud vindication of corridos, a style that’s been increasingly under scrutiny in música mexicana because of its tradition of name-checking outlaws, bandits, and cartel leaders.—
Julyssa Lopez,
Rolling Stone,
14 Mar. 2026
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Police arrested one of four snowball bandits caught on camera clobbering the cops with snow.—
Leonard Greene,
New York Daily News,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Casani is a legend at JPL and NASA, and his story reads like a combination of a spaceflight adventure, personal memoir, and a pirate's tale.—
Space.com Staff,
Space.com,
14 Mar. 2026
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Magic Kingdom’s Beak and Barrel explores a pirate theme with a storyline, an animatronic bird named Rummy, a limited menu (but with octopus tentacles), both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages and a time limit of 45 minutes.—
Dewayne Bevil,
The Orlando Sentinel,
12 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Intense interest persists around his murder because the assassin has never been caught.—
Georg Szalai,
HollywoodReporter,
13 Mar. 2026
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Shapiro is Jewish and was targeted by a would-be assassin who firebombed the governor's mansion last year.—
John Wisely,
Freep.com,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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That way, even if your data circulates, criminals have a harder time breaking in.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
14 Mar. 2026
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By demanding justice and dignity for the drug-war dead, were nuns, priests, pastors, and other sympathizers not protecting criminals?—
Sheila Coronel,
The Atlantic,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Local legend has it that the outlaw Jesse James once used the caverns as a hideout, adding some infamous intrigue to the subterranean spectacle.—
Zoey Goto,
Travel + Leisure,
8 Mar. 2026
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In one scene, the Bride is the most famous outlaw in America; in the next, a cop doesn’t recognize her at all.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
Most are not desperados on the run.—
William Morris,
Des Moines Register,
4 Mar. 2026
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Liu returned to skating in late 2024 after two and a half years, with the clearheaded intention to be a performance artist, not a medal-seeking desperado.—
Sally Jenkins,
The Atlantic,
22 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Last year, the county sued NaphCare for its alleged role in the death of Brandon Yates, who was murdered in the Central Jail in 2024 after being wrongly placed into a cell with a violent offender.—
Kelly Davis,
San Diego Union-Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
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Police said an offender is in custody and a weapon was recovered.—
Madeline King,
Chicago Tribune,
15 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Highwayman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highwayman. Accessed 20 Mar. 2026.
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