messenger

messenger — noun

1. A person whose job is to carry letters, packages, or official information from o

1.nounB1
Definition

A person whose job is to carry letters, packages, or official information from one place or person to another.

Example

A hotel messenger brought a package to our room just after we checked in.

Jin worked as a bike messenger in Taipei during his summer break from university.

collocation: bike messenger

Common collocations
  • send something by messenger
  • bike messenger
  • messenger service
  • dispatch a messenger
  • messenger bag
Synonyms
  • courier

    More formal; often used for important or confidential documents, and for international delivery services.

  • runner

    Informal; often used inside large offices, hospitals, or film sets for urgent on-site delivery.

  • dispatch rider

    A messenger who travels by motorcycle, especially in military or emergency contexts.

Grammar Patterns

messenger + for (company/group)

messenger + from (place/person)

by messenger

Usage Note

Often used in job titles and compound nouns such as bike messenger, courier messenger, or motorcycle messenger. The person may travel on foot, by bicycle, by motorcycle, or by car depending on the setting.

Common Mistakes

Please leave a messenger for the manager.
Please leave a message for the manager.
A messenger is a person who delivers something; a message is the information itself.
Idioms

shoot the messenger

idiom

To blame or punish the person who delivers bad news, even though that person is not responsible for the bad situation.

Walid was furious about the rejected application, but he knew better than to shoot the messenger who had simply delivered the letter.

It is unfair to shoot the messenger — Kasia only passed on the news about the delay; she did not cause it.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Messenger, courier, and runner all refer to someone who carries information or items from one place to another, but they differ in formality and context. Messenger is the most general term and works in everyday situations — a bike messenger, an office messenger, or a hotel messenger. Courier is more formal and often describes a professional who handles important or valuable documents, frequently across cities or countries; courier services are a common industry. Runner is informal and typically refers to someone who makes short, urgent trips within a single building or site, such as a hospital runner or a film-set runner. For example, a law firm might use a courier to deliver contracts to another city, an office manager might call a messenger to carry papers to a nearby building, and a television studio might send a runner to fetch coffee and scripts. Choose messenger for general use, courier for formal or long-distance delivery, and runner for quick, on-site errands.

messenger ↗courier ↗runner ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • messenger bag
  • messenger service
  • messenger company
  • bike messenger

Adverbs

Phrases

  • send something by messenger
  • work as a messenger
  • dispatch a messenger

Prepositions

  • by messenger
  • messenger for [company/department]
  • messenger from [place/person]

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

Messenger comes from the Old French word 'messagier', which was formed from 'message'. Both trace back to the Latin 'missus', meaning 'sent' — the past participle of 'mittere' (to send). The word entered English around the 1200s and has stayed close to its original meaning of 'someone sent with a message' ever since.