Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
gadabout

gadabout

1 9.9
A person who often goes from place to place for fun
  • noun
  • /ˈɡædəˌbaʊt/
  • Archaic
translation icon : paseador
  • She has always been a gadabout, attending parties and events all over the city.

Examples

  • Nurse Johnson would think I was a real gadabout.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • Every penguin Iikes to gadabout

    Peculiar Penguins (1934)

  • " Not of you, my gadabout.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • "You've had your little gadabout.

    Fiction book (1990)

  • You and your snookery, your gadabout snookery.

    Repo Chick (2009)

  • Marcy wasn't much of a gadabout.

    Blood Feast (1963)

  • Why, you little gadabout.

    Waterloo Bridge (1940)

  • I avoid crowds where I'd have to fight to get into jammed public restrooms, and since I'm not a gadabout, this isn't much of a sacrifice.

    Academic text (2002)

  • His friends joke that he is such a gadabout that he never stays in one place for long.

  • As a gadabout, she loves exploring new places and meeting new people every weekend.

Synonyms

wanderer
vsgadabout
23 3.9

A person who travels without a fixed home or purpose

moves from place to place mainly to find social amusement and activities
man-about-town
vsgadabout
4 8.1

A man who often goes to restaurants, parties, and the theater for fun

seeks amusement by moving from place to place rather than staying in one area

Antonyms

homebody
8 5.5

A person who likes to stay at home rather than go out

How Social

socialite
29 6.7
gadabout
  • Archaic
1 9.9
socializer
  • US
1 3.8
homebody
8 5.5

Surface Forms

gadabout singular
gadabouts plural

Morphology

gadabout = gad (transparent) = about + gad

The noun is a straightforward compound formed from 'gad' (to go about) + 'about', meaning 'one who goes about for pleasure'. [Postprocessing: moved 'about' from base_words to prefix]

Etymology

Gadabout comes from the old verb gad meaning 'to move' or 'go' and the word about meaning 'around'. So a gadabout is someone who goes around a lot to find fun and social events.