A vacationer is someone taking a vacation, a period of time away from work or school for rest, travel, and enjoyment. When your family drives to the beach for a week in summer, you're all vacationers. When people fly to visit national parks or explore a new city, they're vacationers during that trip.

You can spot vacationers by how they act: they're often relaxed, carrying cameras, studying maps, or wearing comfortable clothes and sun hats. A resort town in summer fills with vacationers from all over, while locals go about their regular routines. Theme parks, beaches, and museums depend on vacationers who visit from far away.

The word captures a temporary state. Your neighbor is a teacher most of the year, but for two weeks in July, she's a vacationer in Hawaii. Vacationers are taking time off to recharge and have fun. Some vacationers prefer adventure and exploration, while others want to simply relax by a pool with a good book. Either way, being a vacationer means temporarily stepping away from everyday responsibilities to rest and enjoy something different.