pas ‧ sen ‧ ger S3 W2 /ˈpæsɪndʒə, -s ə n- $ -ər/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: passager , from passage ; ⇨ ↑ passage ]
1 . someone who is travelling in a vehicle, plane, boat etc, but is not driving it or working on it:
Neither the driver nor the passengers were hurt.
passenger train/plane/ship
a crash involving a passenger train
bus/rail/airline passengers
Rail passengers now face even longer delays.
2 . British English someone in a group who does not do their share of the group’s work:
The company can’t afford to carry any passengers.
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ verbs
▪ carry passengers
The aeroplane was carrying over 500 passengers.
▪ passengers travel somewhere
More than 7.6m rail passengers travelled on the Eurostar rail service last year.
▪ passengers get on/off a bus/plane etc
The bus stopped and half the passengers got off.
▪ passengers board a plane/train formal (=get on it)
The first three cars were reserved for passengers boarding in Queens.
▪ passengers are stranded (=are unable to continue their journey)
At least 1,000 passengers were stranded at the airport because of the storm.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + passenger
▪ rail passengers
Rail passengers will have to pay more for their tickets next year.
▪ airline passengers
All airline passengers arriving at Heathrow must go through customs.
▪ bus passengers
Bus passengers are facing higher fares.
▪ foot passengers (=passengers on a boat, who are not in a car or other vehicle)
A queue of foot passengers was waiting to get on the ferry.
■ passenger + NOUN
▪ a passenger train (=rather than a goods train)
The driver of the passenger train was unable to stop in time.
▪ a passenger plane/jet
It was recently converted from a passenger plane to cargo use.
▪ a passenger ship
It is the biggest passenger ship afloat.
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THESAURUS
■ people who travel
▪ traveller British English , traveler American English someone who is travelling a long distance:
Weary travellers waited at the airport.
|
My aunt was a great traveller. (=she travelled a lot) .
▪ tourist someone who is travelling somewhere for a holiday:
During the summer, over a million tourists visit the island each year.
▪ passenger someone who is travelling in a vehicle, plane, ship etc but not driving it or working on it:
The driver and two passengers were killed in the crash.
▪ commuter someone who travels to work every day:
commuters on the train to London
▪ backpacker someone who travels to a lot of different places, carrying their clothes etc in a ↑ rucksack :
The hostels are great for backpackers.
▪ explorer someone who travels to places that people have not visited before:
Potatoes were brought to England by explorers such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh.