messenger
Americannoun
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a person who carries a message or goes on an errand for another, especially as a matter of duty or business.
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a person employed to convey official dispatches or to go on other official or special errands.
a bank messenger.
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Nautical.
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a rope or chain made into an endless belt to pull on an anchor cable or to drive machinery from some power source, as a capstan or winch.
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a light line by which a heavier line, as a hawser, can be pulled across a gap between a ship and a pier, a buoy, another ship, etc.
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Oceanography. a brass weight sent down a line to actuate a Nansen bottle or other oceanographic instrument.
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Archaic. a herald, forerunner, or harbinger.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a person who takes messages from one person or group to another or others
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a person who runs errands or is employed to run errands
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a carrier of official dispatches; courier
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nautical
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a light line used to haul in a heavy rope
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an endless belt of chain, rope, or cable, used on a powered winch to take off power
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archaic a herald
Etymology
Origin of messenger
1175–1225; Middle English messager, messangere < Anglo-French; Old French messagier. See message, -er 2
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
They act as messengers, telling our cells what to do, and play vital roles in our skin health, immune system and helping to control our hormones.
From BBC
She went through a hundred “shanks” names and continued to speak to servants and messengers through the crack of the door as they handed her new lists.
From Literature
Dopamine is a chemical messenger that plays a critical role in controlling movement, as well as supporting memory, mood, and other essential functions.
From Science Daily
Claudia Major, a political scientist and specialist on German security policy, says Breuer is the perfect messenger because of his thoughtful and deliberate manner.
Russia has asked for both messengers to provide access to data when requested by law enforcement for fraud probes and for investigating activities Russia describes as "terrorist".
From Barron's
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
