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Glite Dictionary
frequent flyer

frequent flyer

23 2.6
A person who flies often and gets rewards from an airline
  • noun
  • /ˈfriːkwənt ˈflaɪər/
translation icon : viajero frecuente
  • The airline sends exclusive offers to its frequent flyer members.
  • frequent flyer miles

No, no, she just knows I'm a frequent frequent flyer.

Examples

  • Thanks for flying Harris Freight... where frequent flyers earn bonus points good for valuable merchandise.

    Six Days Seven Nights (1998)

  • I got some frequent flyer miles, so I bought a ticket to L.A.

    I'll See You in My Dreams (2015)

  • Are you a frequent flyer?

    Fathers' Day (1997)

  • We were on our way, racking up the frequent-flyer miles.

    Exit to Eden (1994)

  • I racked up a lot of frequent flyer miles.

    Academic text (1996)

  • "Focus on one airline and sign up for the frequent flyer program," Jones advises.

    Blog text (17)

  • Whether you are a frequent flyer or a first-time traveler, I urge you to put down your reading materials and pay attention to this very important information.

    United 93 (2006)

  • As a frequent flyer, I earn points for every trip I take with the airline.

  • Being a frequent flyer allows me to access priority boarding and extra luggage.

Synonyms

traveler
vsfrequent flyer
  • US
286 1.0

A person who often goes from place to place

is specifically about very frequent air travel and loyalty program membership
flyer
vsfrequent flyer
109 3.3

A person who travels by plane or pilots one

is focused on very frequent air use and loyalty membership, not piloting
flier
vsfrequent flyer
  • US
20 3.3

A person who travels by airplane

is someone who flies very often and usually joins airline loyalty plans
air traveler
vsfrequent flyer
  • US
5 2.3

A person who travels by plane

is someone who flies very often and usually joins airline loyalty plans
world traveler
vsfrequent flyer
  • US
5 2.9

A person who goes to many countries around the world

is about frequent air use and loyalty membership rather than wide international travel

How Often

jet-setter
3 7.1
frequent flyer
23 2.6
business traveler
  • US
10 3.1
traveler
  • US
286 1.0

Surface Forms

frequent flyer singular
frequent flyers plural

Morphology

frequent + flyer

The compound 'frequent flyer' is directly compositional: 'frequent' (often) + 'flyer' (someone who flies) yields 'someone who flies often', which matches the MWE definition. A B1 learner who knows both constituents can readily infer this meaning (context disambiguates the rare alternate sense of 'flyer' as a leaflet), and similar constructions exist cross-linguistically.

Etymology

Frequent flyer comes from airline reward programs that counted how often people flew; a frequent flyer who flew many times collected miles and got special rewards. So the phrase now means 'a person who travels by air very often'.