Meaning & use

pilgrim

noun·Academic

A person who travels to a sacred or meaningful place, especially for religious reasons.

See it in a sentence

Thousands of pilgrims walk the ancient trail to the shrine every spring.

The Pilgrims sailed to North America in 1620 seeking religious freedom.

A note on using this word

With a capital P, Pilgrims specifically refers to the English settlers who founded Plymouth Colony in 1620; lowercase pilgrim describes anyone on a religious journey.

Words with a similar meaning

travelerwayfarer

Choose a synonym to suit the sentence. Meanings can overlap without being identical.

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