Meaning & use
pilgrim
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Meanings
nouncountablereligion
A person who makes a journey to a holy or meaningful place as an act of devotion.
Grammar: Countable: a pilgrim, thousands of pilgrims.
Patterns
- a pilgrim to somewhere
- a pilgrim on the road
Thousands of pilgrims walk to the shrine each year.
The pilgrim carried only a staff and a small bag.
A pilgrim to Mecca must prepare carefully.
nouncountablefigurative
Any traveler or wanderer who visits a place out of deep respect or interest.
Grammar: Can be used figuratively for fans visiting a famous site.
Patterns
- a pilgrim to somewhere
Music fans made the pilgrim's trip to the singer's hometown.
He was a pilgrim to every cathedral on the route.
She travelled as a pilgrim of the arts.
proper nounproperAmerican
One of the English settlers who sailed to America in 1620 and founded Plymouth Colony.
Grammar: Capitalized: the Pilgrims, the Pilgrim Fathers.
Patterns
- the Pilgrims
The Pilgrims landed in Massachusetts in 1620.
Schoolchildren learn about the Pilgrims every November.
The Pilgrims built a small settlement called Plymouth.
Word forms
| plural | pilgrims |
|---|
Common combinations
- pilgrim route
- The pilgrim route crosses northern Spain.
- medieval pilgrim
- A medieval pilgrim might travel for months.
- devout pilgrim
- The devout pilgrim knelt at the shrine.
- pilgrim path
- The pilgrim path winds over the mountain.
- Pilgrim Fathers
- The Pilgrim Fathers sailed on the Mayflower.
Synonyms and how they differ
- traveler
- Traveler is general and says nothing about purpose, while pilgrim suggests a religious or devoted journey.
- worshipper
- Worshipper describes someone who prays or honours a deity, not someone who travels.
- wayfarer
- Wayfarer is a literary word for any person traveling on foot, without a sacred purpose.
- settler
- Settler means someone who moves to live in a new place, which is different from a pilgrim who journeys for devotion.
Word family
- pilgrimage noun
- a journey to a holy place
- pilgrimage verb
- to make such a journey (rare)
- pilgrimaging noun
- the act of making a pilgrimage (rare)
Commonly confused: pilgrim or pioneer?
pilgrim vs pioneer
A pioneer is among the first to explore or settle a place or idea, while a pilgrim travels to a sacred place.
Practice
Many ___ walk the long route to the cathedral each spring.
Choose one answer.
Pilgrims are people making a devout journey to a holy place. Pioneers are first settlers or innovators, and pilgrimage is the journey itself.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “pilgrim”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.