passenger

passenger — noun

1. someone being carried by a car, bus, plane, train, or boat, rather than controll

1.nounA2
Definition

someone being carried by a car, bus, plane, train, or boat, rather than controlling the vehicle or serving as part of its staff.

Example

Two passengers helped the driver push the taxi out of the mud.

passenger contrasted with the driver

Emma slept by the window while other passengers chatted at the back.

plural passengers in a shared vehicle

Common collocations
  • airline passengers
  • train passengers
  • front-seat passenger
  • fellow passenger
  • carry passengers
  • passenger list
Synonyms
  • traveler

    broader; a traveler may walk, drive, or use any form of transport

  • rider

    common for buses, bikes, and horses; less natural for planes and ships

  • commuter

    someone who travels regularly between home and work or school

Antonyms
  • driver

    the person who controls a road vehicle

  • pilot

    the person who flies an aircraft

  • crew member

    someone working on the vehicle rather than travelling as a customer

Grammar Patterns

a passenger on + bus/train/plane/ship

a passenger in + car/taxi

passengers board/get off + vehicle

Usage Note

Usually followed by 'on' for public transport and 'in' for cars or taxis. Distinguish from the driver, pilot, captain, or crew, who control the vehicle or work on it.

Common Mistakes

My brother drove, so I was the driver too.
My brother drove, so I was a passenger.
if someone else controls the vehicle, you are a passenger.
There were forty passengers in the plane.
There were forty passengers on the plane.
with planes, buses, trains, and ships, English usually uses 'on'.

2. a railway service used for human travel, not for moving freight or other cargo.

2.nounB2
Definition

a railway service used for human travel, not for moving freight or other cargo.

Example

The 7:15 passenger stopped at every village between Leeds and York.

railway noun: passenger = passenger train

The passenger from Chiayi waited on the outer track while a coal train passed.

contrast with a goods train

Common collocations
  • the morning passenger
  • the 6:40 passenger
  • a stopping passenger
  • the passenger from Tainan
Synonyms
  • passenger train

    the full everyday term; clearer outside specialist railway contexts

  • local

    a narrower type of passenger train that stops at many stations

  • service

    broader railway word that can mean one scheduled train on a route

Antonyms

Grammar Patterns

the + time + passenger

the passenger from/to + place

Usage Note

Mostly railway language and often paired with a time or route name, as in 'the 6:40 passenger' or 'the passenger from Hualien'. Outside rail talk, most speakers simply say 'passenger train'.

Common Mistakes

The passenger carried coal to the factory.
The freight train carried coal to the factory.
this sense refers to a train for people, not for goods.
The passenger from Chiayi was full of vegetables for market.
The freight train from Chiayi was full of vegetables for market.
passenger trains carry people, while freight trains carry goods.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

Passenger, traveler, rider, and commuter all involve going from one place to another, but they focus on different ideas. A passenger is inside or on a vehicle and is not controlling it, so a child in the back seat and a woman on a ferry are both passengers. Traveler is the broadest word and can include someone walking, driving, or taking a train. Rider is common for bikes, horses, buses, and motorcycles, and it stresses the act of riding more than the transport role. Commuter is narrower: it means someone who makes the same trip regularly between home and work or school. So Daniel is a passenger on the bus, a traveler during his holiday, and a commuter every Monday morning.

passenger ↗traveler ↗rider ↗commuter ↗

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchAnglo-FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Passenger came into English from Anglo-French and Old French forms such as passager and passagier, meaning a person who passes through or travels. Those words were built from the verb meaning 'to pass' and go back to a Latin root connected with taking a step. In English, the meaning settled on someone carried in a vehicle, and in railway language it later also came to mean a train used for people rather than freight.