highwayman

noun

Definition of highwaymannext
as in brigand
a man especially in the past who stopped travelers on roads and robbed them

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of highwayman Shortly before midnight on May 23, 1798, highwaymen just north of Dublin intercepted and set on fire a mail coach headed to Belfast. — Joseph Patrick Kelly, The Conversation, 20 May 2025 Dee is in his Springheel Jack costume, since London bobbies of that era would rather work with a mythical highwayman than a real Chinese man. — Yvonne Zipp, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Apr. 2025 In the irreverent retelling of the 18th-century highwayman’s life, Turpin is the most famous but least likely of robbers, whose success is defined mostly by his charm, showmanship, and great hair. — Jake Kanter, Deadline, 16 Jan. 2025 Dick Turpin was an English robber and highwayman whose criminal activities gained him notoriety in the early eighteenth century. — Ben Morse, CNN, 14 Jan. 2025 The group gets further assistance from a charming aristocratic dandy/secret highwayman named Charles Devereaux (Frank Dillane). — Ars Technica, 24 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for highwayman
  1. brigand
  2. bandit
  3. pirate
  4. assassin
  5. criminal
  6. outlaw
  7. desperado
  8. offender
Noun
  • Their captors beset by these foreign brigands, Larys and Aegon manage to escape.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • That’s the state Supergirl is in when she is dragged into a local dispute on some far-off planet, defending the honor of an orphaned teenage girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley); her parents were murdered by a brigand named Krem of the Yellow Hills (Matthias Schoenaerts).
    — David Sims, The Atlantic, 26 June 2026
Definition of brigand
Noun
  • Between Two Fires is a zippy historical monster story, where a bandit ex-knight and a young girl beset by visions have to contend with plague and inhuman monsters.
    — James Folta, Literary Hub, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Snoopy and Woodstock line the outside of the bowl in costumes like cowboys, mummies, bandits, and witches.
    — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of bandit
Noun
  • Jamal convened a press conference proclaiming to be able to communicate by phone with Somali pirates who were holding a Nigerian ship hostage.
    — Mia Cathell, The Washington Examiner, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Get it at 50 percent off and complete the set with matching bowls featuring the whole Peanuts gang in designs with bats and pumpkins, Snoopy’s doghouse, pirates, Schroeder’s piano, pumpkin patches, cute costumes, and more.
    — Caley Sturgill, Southern Living, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of pirate
Noun
  • But instead the sisters wind up confronting assassins, demons with human familiars, and revelations about their late mother’s place within Le Clan des Sorcières.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Separately in the episode, River (Jack Lowden) and Sid (Olivia Cooke) are on the run from a pair of assassins, while the rest of the team circles the wagons en route to a safe house.
    — Lisa de los Reyes, HollywoodReporter, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of assassin
Noun
  • The Financial Action Task Force, the global money-laundering watchdog, has warned that criminals exploit citizenship and residency programs to conceal their identities, launder illicit wealth and evade justice.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026
  • The real risk is that a criminal could forge your signature on a deed or trick you into signing paperwork that transfers ownership, then file that document with the local office that maintains property records.
    — Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 3 Oct. 2026
Definition of criminal
Noun
  • Taking inspiration from their cousins—who had been members of the more famous Jesse and Frank James outlaw gang—the Dalton gang decided to rob two banks at once.
    — Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Simpson has carved out an incredibly loyal following in the country music industry by singing largely outlaw country tunes.
    — David Hookstead OutKick, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of outlaw
Noun
  • The Cougars are one-score favorites, but anything goes in the desperado Big 12.
    — Steven Louis Goldstein, New York Times, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Crowds of the curious milled through the gloomy building, seeking to view the body of the most notorious desperado of the year.
    — Cassidy Alexander, AJC.com, 23 July 2026
Definition of desperado
Noun
  • Those illicit techniques include attaching a GPS tracker to a car or using cell-tower data to track a potential offender.
    — Rafael A. Mangual, Washington Post, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The repeat violent offender that attacked multiple women in Dilworth should have never been on the streets.
    — Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of offender

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Cite this Entry

“Highwayman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/highwayman. Accessed 10 Oct. 2026.

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