cruise
noun · verb
Simple meaning
An ocean trip taken for pleasure.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
kroozIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈkɹuz
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
An ocean trip taken for pleasure
A sea or lake voyage, especially one taken for pleasure.
aeronautics
Portion of aircraft travel at a constant airspeed and altitude between ascent and descent phases.
A car enthusiasts' event where they drive their vehicles in a group.
A small cup; cruse.
verb
Sail or travel about for pleasure, relaxation, or sightseeing
“We were cruising in the Caribbean.”
intransitive
To sail about, especially for pleasure.
Travel at a moderate speed
“Please keep your seat belt fastened while the plane is reaching cruising altitude.”
intransitive
To travel at constant speed for maximum operating efficiency.
transitive
To move about an area leisurely in the hope of discovering something, or looking for custom.
intransitive
To take part in a cruise (car enthusiasts' event where they drive their vehicles in a group).
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A2 · Elementary
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An ocean trip taken for pleasure
Used this way, cruise is a reasonably familiar word with a mildly favourable edge. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Slightly positive
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Positive and appreciative
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
How It’s Used
The word’s distinct uses, one example each.
Sailverb
“We were cruising in the Caribbean.”
Travelverb
“Please keep your seat belt fastened while the plane is reaching cruising altitude.”
More ways to use cruise
- “She cruised the neighborhood in her new convertible.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A car in which policemen cruise the streets.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A passenger ship used commercially for pleasure cruises.
An unmanned aircraft that is a self-contained bomb.
Control mechanism for keeping an automobile at a set speed.
A passenger ship used commercially for pleasure cruises.
A cruiser that carries guided missiles.
A cruiser of maximum speed and firepower.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.