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Definition of cruise

 (Entry 1 of 2)

intransitive verb

transitive verb

Definition of cruise  (Entry 2 of 2)

• gad (about)
• galavant
• kick around
• knock (about)

Examples of cruise in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cruise.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Dutch kruisen to make a cross, cruise, from Middle Dutch crucen , from crūce cross, from Latin cruc-, crux

1651, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1

1696, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing cruise

• adaptive cruise control
• cruise control
• booze cruise
• radar cruise control
• cruise missile
• cruise ship
• cruise liner

Dictionary Entries Near cruise

Cite this entry.

“Cruise.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cruise. Accessed 13 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of cruise.

from Dutch kruisen "to cruise, move crosswise," from early Dutch crūce "cross," from Latin crux "cross" — related to cross , crucial

More from Merriam-Webster on cruise

Nglish: Translation of cruise for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of cruise for Arabic Speakers

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Definition of 'cruise'

Video: pronunciation of cruise

cruise in American English

Cruise in british english, cruise in british english, examples of 'cruise' in a sentence cruise, word lists with cruise, related word partners cruise, trends of cruise.

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The Ultimate Cruise Lingo Glossary – 85 Terms You Need to Know

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Cruise vocabulary, jargon or lingo – if you’re going on a cruise, you’ll want to be familiar with the cruise terminology

Are you getting ready for your first cruise? Through the planning process, you may have noticed that there’s a whole world of cruise vocabulary, nautical terms or “cruise lingo”.

This handy glossary of cruise terminology includes some of the new terms and acronyms used in the cruise industry today. These are some of the most common cruise phrases and words you’ll be hearing as you plan your cruise, as well as when you board your cruise ship.

This post contains affiliate links which means if you click and buy that I may make a commission, at no cost to you. Please see my disclosure policy for details.

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

A Cruise Lingo Tip You Must Know

Before we get started, here’s the most important piece of advice I can give you, when it comes to talking like a cruise pro.

Don’t call a cruise ship a boat.

Cruisers might have different opinions about which cruise lines are the best, cruise line dress codes , and the do’s and don’ts of cruise gratuities , but there’s one thing all cruisers agree on…

Don’t call a cruise ship a boat. Trust me on this 😉

About Cruise Lingo and Cruise Lifestyle

Cruising is a lifestyle unto it’s own, and cruisers really do have their own lingo and cruise terminology. Nautical terms are often used, and cruisers love it!

New cruisers can be left scratching their heads.

Words and acronyms such as Aft, Muster drill, Starboard, OBC and MDR, may seem like a mysterious cruise language. However, in this cruise lingo glossary, I’ll go over all the cruise jargon need to know.

You’ll be chatting like a seasoned cruiser in no time!

Cruise ship vocabulary

You’re on a ship, not a boat. A boat fits inside a ship, and not the other way around. Fellow cruisers won’t hesitate to correct you sternly if you get this wrong.

Try and get used to this one quickly,  just trust me on this…

Below you can hear Celebrity Cruises Captain Kate , explaining this point in her navigational report.

Your room is called a cabin. While hotels have rooms, ships have cabins.

3. Stateroom

Sometimes a cruise cabin will be referred to as a stateroom.

Your cruise ship will have many decks. While hotels refer to floors, cruise-ships refer to decks.

5. The bridge

The bridge is the navigational hub of the ship.

The person in command of the ship.

7. Cruise Director

Think Julie McCoy :-). Your cruise director, among other duties, will act as Emcee, heading up most major entertainment events on the ship. On larger ships you’ll see assistant cruise directors and other activities staff also leading main activities.

8. Itinerary

Your cruise itinerary refers to each destination/cruise port of call you’ll be visiting.

9. Port of departure

This is the port from which your cruise will depart (ie. Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Vancouver, Barcelona etc.)

10. Cruise terminal

Just like airplanes have airports, cruise ships have cruise terminals or cruise ports. There are safety and boarding procedures to be aware of.

Recommended:   11 Cruise Boarding Tips You Need to Know

11. Ports of call

You probably remember this one from “The Love Boat”. I know I do! This is individual destination where you will stop at for the day. Examples of cruise ports or ports of call on a Caribbean cruise include Cozumel , St. Thomas , Grand Cayman and so on.

12. Shore excursion

This is an organized activity you may choose to do when in a port. You can book a shore excursion through your cruise line or on your own with a private vendor or tour company. Examples include a snorkeling or sightseeing excursion.

A cruise ship will usually arrive at a large dock when it arrives at the cruise port.

There are some cruise ports where cruise ships cannot access the land directly and dock, due to coral reefs and other reasons. In these cases your ship will tender a few minutes away from the port, and shuttle passengers in by tender boats.

As an example, Grand Cayman is a tender port at this time, but it looks like a new dock will be built in a couple years.

15. Stabilizers

Modern cruise ships have stabilizers to keep motion to a minimum.

The ship’s anchor is impressive. Along with the chain, the anchor holds to the sea bed to keep the ship from drifting at sea.

The super large kitchen where literally tons of food is cooked and prepared. You can actually do a galley tour while on your cruise if you’re interested.

18. Dry dock

When a cruise ship goes into dry dock, it’can be to receive routine maintenance, or to be refurbished. the ship can be out of service for weeks or longer.

19. Charter

Groups will sometimes charter a cruise ship, to host a special event.

Cruise Ship Terminology – understanding common areas of the cruise ship

The atrium is a large central public area usually spanning 3 or more decks. Often very beautiful, it will be the central hub of the ship’s interior.

21. Port side

The left side of the ship, as you face forward, is referred to as port side .

Tip: An easy way to remember – LEFT has 4 letters and so does PORT

22. Starboard side

The right side of the ship as you face forward is the Starboard side.

23. Forward

The front section of the ship.

The back section of the ship is called the aft. The aft or wake view is a favorite for many cruisers.

25. Purser’s desk

These days, the purser’s desk is often referred to as guest or passenger services. However many avid cruisers enjoy the nautical language and will continue to use the term “purser’s desk”. Usually this is located in the atrium.

26. Mid-ship

Generally said in reference to the preferred cabin location . Most cruise passengers will prefer a mid-ship cabin, rather than one that is forward or aft. This area has an advantage of having more stability in general.

Get The Ultimate Cruise Planner

Regular price: $27 now just $17.

Cruise Cabin Terminology

When booking a cruise, you’ll notice that there are several different stateroom options. Below are the most common cabin options.

27. Interior staterooms

Inside or interior cabins are staterooms which include all the basics, however do not have a window.

Related:  15 Best Tips for Cruising in an Inside Cabin: cabin organization and more

28. Oceanview Cabins

Cabins with a window or porthole are ocean view cabins.

29. Balcony cabins

Balcony cabins , sometimes referred to as Veranda cabins, include a private outdoor space outside your cabin.

Related:   7 Best Reasons to Book a Balcony Cabin

30. Guarantee cabin (GTY)

This refers to an unassigned cabin any type of cabin (inside, ocean view, balcony) . The cruise line will assign the cabin at any point before the cruise.

Often, guarantee cabins will be priced lower, so this can be a great value if you’re not picky about the location of your cabin.

31. Pullman bed

If you have more than 2 passengers in your cabin, you may have pullman beds for 3rd and 4th passengers. They are like bunk beds that come out of the wall or ceiling. They will be tucked back into the ceiling or wall during the day if you like.

32. Double occupancy

The cruise fare will be based on double occupancy as a standard, and this is what you will see as an advertised price.

33. Single occupancy

When cruising solo, most of the time you’ll be paying a single occupancy rate, which can be almost the cost of 2 people in a cabin (you won’t pay taxes twice).

34. Solo cabins – Studio cabins

If you’re cruising solo, look for cruise ships that have studio cabins intended for solo travelers.

35. Triple and Quad Cabins

Some cabins can accomodate 3, 4 or more passengers in one cabin, referred to as triple or quad cabins. These are most popular with young families cruising together .

Read next:   Worst Cruise Ship Cabins to Avoid

Back to the Cruise Ship

36. Deck plan

A map of all the cruise ship decks.

37. Lido deck

The Lido Deck is the public pool deck, often on one of the top decks of the cruise ship. There may be more than one pool, hot tub and outdoor seating.

38. Gangway

The gangway is elevated walkway you will use to board your ship, usually covered, but not always.

The very front of the ship.

The very back of the ship.

The beautiful white trail of waves visible at the very back of the ship. My favorite spot on the ship to realx and take it all in. Please let me know in the comments if this is your favorite as well – if not, where is?

Cruise Lingo you need to know for the first day of your cruise and beyond

42.   Embarkation day

The first day of your cruise and the best day in a cruiser’s life 😉

Recommended reading to prepare for your cruise embarkation day – 25 Cruise Embarkation Day Tips Straight from the Pros

43. Muster drill

The muster drill is a mandatory safety drill which is done prior to sailing. Note, it’s not “mustard” drill, as you just may hear from other passengers.

44. Muster station

Your assigned emergency meeting location. You’ll likely meet here for your muster drill, but don’t worry, cruise ship crew will help to guide you.

45. Daily planner

Different cruise lines use different terms for their daily newsletter of information scheduled activities (Cruise Compass, Princess Patters, Today, Freestyle Daily). Many cruise lines now have this information available on their app.

46. Sailaway

The period of time that your Cruise Ship actually sails away from the shore. Often there will be a Sailaway party on the top deck, however some cruisers enjoy it from their own balcony.

47. Sailaway Party

Check your daily planner for information. Generally the Sailaway party will be at the main pool and will include some drinks, a DJ or band playing and some dancing.

48. Sea day

A day at sea is when your cruise ship is not visiting a port, but sea days aren’t boring ! There will be plenty of activities to choose from if you don’t want to simply relax by a pool.

49. Cruise Card

On most cruise ships, you’ll be given a cruise card which will act as your room key, ID and your method of payment when on your cruise.

50. Ocean Medallion

Ocean Medallion is a relatively new cruise ship technology available on Princess Cruises . Instead of a cruise card, the medallion serves like a cruise card, but also does much more.

You can read about our recent Ocean Medallion experience here .

51. Room steward or cabin attendant

Sometimes mistakenly called a room “Stuart”, the person who cleans your room twice a day (amazing!) and really takes care of you and your cabin mates is called a room steward or a cabin attendant.

52. Dress code

Cruise lines have suggested dress codes , ranging from very casual to more formal.

53. Formal night 

A tradition on many cruise ships, the formal night is a night to dress up. Check your cruise line’s dress codes for suggestions. Some cruise lines have relaxed the dress codes a bit, including Celebrity Cruises which now has Evening Chic , rather than formal.

54. Early dining and late dining

Early and late dining are basically a first and second seating, which some cruise lines with an option of assigned dining will have. This is for a main dining room and not a buffet.

55. Open dining

Open dining is offered on many cruise ships. In some cases, a cruise line will offer both open and set dining. It can go by different terminology including Anytime Dining on Princess , My Time Dining on Royal Caribbean, Select Dining on Celebrity .

To note, some cruise lines offer only open dining, such as Norwegian Cruise Line which is Freestyle dining.

56. Specialty restaurants

This usually refers to the dining in an alternative restaurant that is not included in your cruise fare and is often a more intimate or higher culinary experience. An example of this would be Celebrity Cruises Tuscan Grille .

57. All Aboard

The ship will leave your ports of call promptly. All aboard time is generally set for 30 minutes before your cruise is scheduled to leave the port of call. Do verify the all aboard time before heading off for an excursion in the cruise port.

All joking aside, there are people at cruise ports every year – and you don’t want it to be you.

58. Towel animals

You just may find towel animals in your cruise cabin. These are the super cute towel creations made by your room steward, available on some cruise lines (usually family orientated ones).

We’ve had many years of enjoyment when our kids were young, even miss them a little bit these days.

59. Pier runners: This is an unofficial name given to those (who may have had too many libations) who can be seen running in the last few minutes hoping not to miss the ship’s departure. It is quite entertaining!

60. Roll call

A roll call may be set up for your cruise by yourself or other cruise passengers. Basically, this is a group of people who chat online before a cruise, and may have some gatherings set up once on board.

Read more:   5 Reasons Why You Should Join a Cruise Roll Call

61. Disembarkation

The saddest day in a cruiser’s life is the day that you need to disembark and the cruise is over.

Wondering about how disembarkation day really works?   21 Cruise Disembarkation Tips You Need to Know

62. Onboard booking

Booking your next cruise on board can give you some awesome benefits and is one of the best kept secrets for saving money while booking a cruise . For those that book with travel agents, don’t worry, the future cruise consultant will transfer it to the agency (request if they don’t offer).

Tip: Check to make sure about the terms and conditions and find out if future cruise deposits are refundable if that’s important to you.

Booking a cruise – terms to know

63. Cruise fare

This is the base cost of the cruise, per person

64. Deposit and Final Payment

When you book a cruise, if you’ve booked early you’ll be making a deposit which will secure your booking. As you get closer to sailing (usually about 70-90 days pre cruise), your final payment will be due.

Terms and conditions may be different on various cruise lines, however the details will be on your own reservation.

65. Cruise contract

When booking a cruise, you’ll be agreeing to a cruise contract. The cruise contract includes the terms and conditions that cruise passengers agree to.

66. Online check-in

Before your cruise, passengers are asked to complete an online check in and print out cruise documents to sail.

67. Gratuities

Gratuities or tipping is customary on a cruise. A per person service fee or gratuity will be charged daily to your cabin, on most major cruise lines.

Recommended:   Cruise Tipping Guidelines and Etiquette

68. Prepaid gratuities

When booking your cruise, you can prepay your gratuities , and avoid thinking about additional expenses on a cruise .

69. Lanyard

A lanyard might be used by cruisers to hang a cruise card around the next for convenience. This is one of the most popular cruise accessories in our list of travel essentials .

70. Rum Runners

A type of container used to conceal alcohol brought on a cruise, that isn’t allowed. For more on other items that are prohibited, read this next:  33 Banned Items You Can’t Bring on a Cruise 

Recommended:   10 Things NOT to pack for a cruise

Cruise Start Up Terms

Along with some major changes on cruise ships, we have seen new cruise line policies the have resulted in more cruise lingo – more words and explanations we just don’t know.

71. Cruise with Confidence

The major cruise lines introduced a flexible cruise cancellation policy, during this time, should people decide to cancel a cruise up to 48 hours pre-cruise. When cancelling, in most cases passengers will receive a credit which can be used towards a future cruise.

There are some terms and conditions to be aware of, so always read the fine print.

72. Muster 2.0

A new technology that would allow muster drills to be done using a new app, rather than in a large gathering. Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises came out with this new technology as cruises resume. Several cruise lines are using a form of emuster as well.

The Cruise Line International Association is the world’s largest cruise industry trade association. It represents the major cruise lines, which have suspended cruises leaving from the United States until the end of October .

74. No Sail Order

A no sail order was put into effect by the CDC in March 2020. For cruises to resume, it was imperative that the CDC lift the no sail order . This is lifted and cruisers have resumed with strict guidelines for safety and health.

75. Warm lay up and cold lay up

As cruises are suspended, we hear the terms “warm and cold lay up” of cruise ships.

Warm lay up refers to when a cruise ship has reduced levels of crew onboard, and costs for fuel and other items are reduced. However, the cruise ship is kept in a condition as to be able to be brought back to service relatively quickly.

A cold lay up is a prolonged period of time when the cruise ship is shut down as much as possible to reduce cost. It takes longer for ships to be brought back to service and is a more complicated process.

76. NEW Safety and health protocols

The cruise lines have adopted new safety and health protocols to ensure safe cruising for passengers and crew.

Cruise Lingo Acronyms

It’s quite common to hear people who cruise a lot speak using these acronyms. You may even see these abbreviations in cruise facebook groups and pages, or on cruise forums .

Here is an explanation of the most common cruise acronyms, so you’ll be fluent in cruise lingo of all sorts.

Main Dining Room

On board credit – extra cash credit on your cruise account that you can use on the ship for most purchases. Sometimes this is added as a promotion by the cruise line or your travel agent.

This refers to a back to back cruise, meaning one cruise and then another cruise one after the other. Some cruisers may even do a B2B2B (3 cruises in a row)

The abbreviation for a guarantee cabin (see above in cruise lingo glossary)

Future Cruise Credit – when booking a future cruise onboard

A TA is short for travel agent

Avid Cruiser Lingo

83. Cruisebug

After a first cruiser, it’s not uncommon for a new cruiser to love it so much that they feel an immediate calling to book again and cruise more often. Often, this is referred to as catching the cruisebug.

84. Cruise addict

It’s said that cruising is the healthiest addiction and a vice many are happy to have! If you’ve cruised and now you’re constantly on the lookout for all the cruise info you can find and really just want to book cruises, congrats! You are now a cruise addict!

85. Cruiseaholic

Another word for someone who is addicted to cruising!

Recommended:   30 Best Gifts for Cruisers (that are unique too!)

86. Thallosphile (n)

A lover of the sea , someone who loves the sea, ocean.

87. Post-cruise blues

So, the post-cruise blues is real! One possible remedy is booking another cruise when onboard, but it’s still tough to leave that amazing cruise ship life!

Do you suffer from Post-Cruise Depression?

How To Know if You Have Post-Cruise Depression (a fun read)

*Ultimate Cruise Travel Planner*

Over the last year, I put together a 47 page cruise travel planner that has everything you need as you plan and get ready for your cruise.

If you could use cruise packing lists, to-do checklists, shore excursion forms and more, you’ll love the Life Well Cruised Ultimate Cruise Planner .

Plus, for a limited time, it’s $10 off. Hope you enjoy!

See details here: Ultimate Cruise Planner -What’s Included

Related and Popular Posts:

Port Side or Starboard Side on a Cruise: Which Side is Best?

37 Interesting Cruise Ship Facts that Will Surprise You

50 Most Popular Amazon Cruise Essentials

25 Cruise Embarkation Day Tips You Need to Know

75 Genius Cruise Hacks and Tips

23 Essential Things to Pack in Your Cruise Carry-On Bag

What to Pack for a Caribbean Cruise

Worst Cabins to Avoid on a Cruise

Recap: Cruise Lingo Glossary – 85 Cruise Terms You Need to Know

In this post, we went over 85 cruise terms that are important to know when you’re booking a cruise, as well as when you’re on a cruise ship. This list of “cruise lingo” should help to navigate the world of cruise language.

If you’re a new cruiser I hope the information has been helpful. If you’re a seasoned cruiser, I hope it was a fun read!

Is there a cruise term that you think should be added? Please let me know by leaving a comment below.

Happy cruising!

P.S. If you’ve enjoyed this, please don’t keep it to yourself ;-)! Please share it with a friend, on Facebook or save for later on Pinterest. Thanks so much!

Let’s connect:

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18 Comments

You missed out Rum Runners. Those cheapskates that think its clever to smuggle on alcohol rather than buy on board in various containers. This may be a Carnival thing but its creeping on the better lines.

You’re right – I completely forgot that one and it’s now totally in the cruise lexicon, right? For better or for worse, lol!

I’ll add it in. Thanks for taking the time to comment :-)!!

by the way what happens to the “Rum Runners” when caught?

Hmmmm,good question. I actually have heard that any alcohol will simply be confiscated, but I’ve never used them so I can’t say for sure.

I love the drinks on board, so I just drink those 🙂

Thanks for taking the time to comment Lebo.

I really like your blog/page. The information in it is very good. I am a member of the Princess Cruise forum and what I have done is when I have come across something interesting or information I didn’t know I take notes on it. That’s how I’ve learned many of the items here. I would add TA – which is travel agent may seem too simple But I see TA all the time. I liked your comment about if you don’t know something ask a fellow cruise passenger or staff person on board. Since I am a solo travelor that really helped me. I would also add to tips for new cruisers is to be respectful of their fellow travelors and also all staff they encounter onboard (which includes room stewards, wait staff and everyone else they encounter).

Hi Charles,

Great points! TA is one I overlooked and you are so right. I agree completely with respect for passengers and crew – I hope most are.

I really appreciate you reading my blog and taking the time to leave a comment!

All the best,

This is great, but I would have liked a short, printable list, as well.

Glad the list was helpful. Thanks for your suggestion as well. This may be something that I’ll work on doing in the future.

I love your cruise blog. I have the cruise bug bad. PCD is bad in me on disembarkation day. I have only cruised with NCL and when onboard I buy as many CruiseNext Deals as I can. Many times you buy one and get on free, and on balcony and higher you can use two. To me free money off my cruise. NCL has past guest deals and when on bourd I book it. Thus even getting a better deal. I will triple dip looking for a past guest and a Latitudes Reward program. Earn point for every cruise night, Point for Suite, point booking 9 mounts in advance, and point for a Latitudes insider offer. Next cruise I will earn many points per day. That gives you free laundry, free dinners, free bottles of wine at dinner, and hopefully one day a free cruise… I would like to do a B2B2B. Do you have to get off the ship? Only word I would add is RESPECT. Respect yourself not making a scene if something not right. For you are the lesser for it. Hopefully one day we will meet up on a cruise ship. Your friend Russell

Thanks Russell for your kind words and your great tips! I have the same sentiments on disembarkation day – it’s the worst :-(.

For a B2B, you do have to get off the ship (although I hear sometimes not if customs come on), but it’s a pretty good process as passengers are grouped together and passed through quickly.

Would be great to meet you on a cruise one day!

Yes a printable list of the terms would be very helpful. Tyvm for your time to help fellow cruisers!!

Thanks Deborah for your comment. I’ll definitely look into creating one, especially since it’s been suggested a couple of times.

Best to you,

We too had a stressful private tour in Turkey, going to Ephesus. We made it back by the skin of our teeth, but the traffic on he way back through Izmir was heavy and slow. All your tips about not being a pier runner are very apt! Thank you. Jim and Norita Nickerson

Hi Jim & Norita,

Wow I would have been stressed as well. We loved Ephesus but did a morning tour only so were back early. Thanks for sharing your experience!

Not only do I find your newsletters fun AND helpful but ditto your You Tube videos. I have been addicted to cruising since 1959. Wish I could afford to feed my addiction more frequently. Going on an 11 day Caribbean cruise on Rotterdam VII in December.

Thanks so much Jim! I’m so glad that you enjoy my emails and videos & appreciate you taking the time to comment.

Don’t we all just wish we could cruise a little more? Your Caribbean cruise sounds absolutely amazing – enjoy every minute!

I enjoy your work … 2 more often overlooked terms: bunkering and along-side … bunkering of course is the re-fueling process … along-side is the captain’s term for bringing a ship to a full stop at a future pier (“we’re expected to be along-side at 7 am in Fort Lauderdale”) …

Thanks for sharing these!

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Cruise - definition, pronunciation, transcription

• Hindi (हिन्दी)

Extra examples

We cruised for a week down the Yangtze River.

He dreams of cruising the Mediterranean.

The bus was cruising at 55 miles per hour.

We were cruising along the highway.

The plane was cruising at 30,000 feet.

On Friday nights, teenagers cruise the main street in town to show off their cars.

A car cruised past us.

We went on a weeklong cruise down the Yangtze River.

They went on a cruise for their honeymoon.

Let's cruise for a while.

The cabdriver cruised for an hour before being hailed.

We were cruising along the road.

It's time to cruise.

I'm gonna cruise that math course.

We were cruising in the Caribbean all winter.

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Definition of cruise verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• (+ adv./prep.) They cruised down the Nile.
• cruise something We spent two weeks cruising the Bahamas.
• Fire crews were called to the scene.
• He crews for a billionaire on his yacht.
• We're taking a cruise around the Mediterranean.
• I'd love to cruise down the Nile.
• She is on holiday, cruising in the Mediterranean.
• We cruised round the Greek islands.
• cruising up and down the coast

Join our community to access the latest language learning and assessment tips from Oxford University Press!

• a light aircraft cruising at 4 000 feet
• His car has a cruising speed of 50 mph.
• The plane was cruising at 40 000 feet.
• Concorde would cruise at an altitude of 17 km.
• The car cruised along at 70 mph.
• + adv./prep. She cruised around the block looking for a parking space.
• cruise something Taxis cruised the streets, looking for fares.
• A car cruised past us in the outside lane.
• I was cruising comfortably along the main highway.
• The home team cruised to victory.
• [intransitive, transitive] cruise (something) (slang) to go around in public places looking for a sexual partner

Other results

• cruise controls
• cruise missiles

Nearby words

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IRS Tax Tip 2024-29, April 8, 2024

The IRS has some important reminders for taxpayers who haven’t filed yet. The deadline for most taxpayers to file and pay their 2023 federal tax is April 15, 2024.

Taxpayers should file after they receive all their proper tax documents , or they risk making a mistake that could cause delays.

Prepare to file

• Review income documents carefully. If any of the information is inaccurate or missing, taxpayers should contact the payer right away for a correction or to ensure they have the taxpayer’s current mailing or email address.
• Organize tax records so they can easily prepare a complete and accurate tax return.
• Check eligibility for deductions or credits . Taxpayers should understand which credits and deductions make sense for their tax situation and which records they need to show their eligibility.
• Create an IRS Online Account to securely access information about their federal tax account, including payments, tax records and more.
• Renew their individual taxpayer identification number or ITIN it if it's expired and is needed on a U.S. federal tax return. If taxpayers don't renew an expired ITIN, the IRS can still accept their return, but it may delay processing.

Use IRS.gov resources and online tools for tax help

IRS.gov has online tools to help get taxpayers the information they need . The tools are easy to use and available 24 hours a day. There are tools to help taxpayers file and pay taxes, track tax refunds, find information about their accounts and get answers to their tax questions.

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to sail about on a pleasure trip.

to sail about, as a warship patrolling a body of water.

to travel about without a particular purpose or destination.

to fly, drive, or sail at a constant speed that permits maximum operating efficiency for sustained travel.

to travel at a moderately fast, easily controllable speed: cruising along the highway enjoying the scenery.

to travel about slowly, looking for customers or for something demanding attention: Taxis and police cars cruise in the downtown area.

to go or travel (often followed by over ): Let's cruise over to my house after the concert.

Informal . to go about on the streets or in public areas in search of a sexual partner.

to cruise in (a specified area): patrol cars cruising the neighborhood; to cruise the Caribbean.

to move slowly through or visit (a street, park, bar, etc.) in search of a sexual partner.

to make sexual overtures to; attempt to arouse the sexual interest of.

to inspect (a tract of forest) for the purpose of estimating lumber potential.

the act of cruising.

a pleasure voyage on a ship, usually with stops at various ports.

Origin of cruise

Other words from cruise.

• cruis·ing·ly, adverb

Words Nearby cruise

• cruelty-free
• cruise control
• cruise missile
• cruiserweight
• cruise ship

Other definitions for Cruise (2 of 2)

Tom Thomas Cruise Mapother, 4th , born 1962, U.S. film actor.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use cruise in a sentence

Such tests might be useful, say, to screen school children or cruise ship passengers.

Meanwhile, cruise still has its eyes set on public deployment, which is where the expertise of Raman comes in.

That all came after cruise had already scrapped its plans to launch a robotaxi service in 2019.

cruise also began focusing more on hardware earlier this year.

cruise Director of Government Affairs Prashanthi Raman Earlier this year, before the world blew up, cruise received a permit in California to begin transporting passengers.

These skills are particularly needed when, as in the case of the AirAsia flight, the airplane is at cruise altitude.

Nerd cruise By Adam Rogers, Wired What 800 Nerds on a cruise Ship Taught Me About Life, the Universe, and Snorkeling.

He told the court he called the retired captain to see exactly where he lived so he knew when to sound the cruise ship horn.

More than 150 passengers on a California cruise ship came down with norovirus, continuing a trend that happens every year.

It also has a close association with cruises and cruise ships.

And Jack come home from a long cruise , with prize-money in his pockets, was as ostentatious as any nouveau riche.

And every boy made a dash for the camp to secure anything he might need on a cruise down the bay.

In his first cruise he was out forty-five days, and in that time he captured fourteen vessels and 166 prisoners.

Then, his mother coming in, he proceeded to tell about their " cruise ," and the sad fate of his bundle.

Earth-closets are a delusion; you cannot get earth, nor even sand, when on a cruise , and there are other serious objections.

British Dictionary definitions for cruise (1 of 2)

/ ( kruːz ) /

(intr) to make a trip by sea in a liner for pleasure, usually calling at a number of ports

to sail or travel over (a body of water) for pleasure in a yacht, cruiser, etc

(intr) to search for enemy vessels in a warship

(intr) (of a vehicle, aircraft, or vessel) to travel at a moderate and efficient speed

(intr) informal to search the streets or other public places for a sexual partner

an act or instance of cruising, esp a trip by sea

British Dictionary definitions for Cruise (2 of 2)

Tom. original name Thomas Cruise Mapother. born 1962, US film actor; his films include Risky Business (1983), Top Gun (1986), Jerry Maguire (1989), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), War of the Worlds (2005), and Valkyrie (2008)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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Definition of cruise – Learner’s Dictionary

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cruise verb ( MOVE )

Cruise verb ( sail ).

(Definition of cruise from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Translations of cruise

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Word of the Day

acting or speaking together, or at the same time

Alike and analogous (Talking about similarities, Part 1)

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Ross Douthat

Three interpretations of ‘the three-body problem’.

By Ross Douthat

Opinion Columnist

Having watched some (though not quite all) of “3 Body Problem,” Netflix’s hit adaptation of “The Three-Body Problem,” the first book in a science-fiction saga by the Chinese author Liu Cixin, I’m struck by the unusual geopolitical weight this particular piece of pop entertainment carries. At a time when Chinese-American relations are notable for a lack of sustained cultural exchange, here is a best-selling work written within our leading rival, carrying various clash-of-civilizational themes, translated into popular television for an American audience. There aren’t a lot of other cases where a major piece of pop culture is so clearly working along the fault lines that have led to great-power conflict and could one day lead to war.

But then I’m also struck, reading the commentary surrounding the show and the books, by how the different projects of translation — from Chinese-language phenomenon to English-language best seller, then from book to TV show — have created an instability of interpretation, a difficulty settling on a narrative about what Liu’s story really means. Even a three-interpretation problem, you might say (sorry!), with different gazes and different translations yielding very different readings and reactions. (Some spoilers follow.)

Consider, first, the book as seen through Western eyes. The default American reaction to any work of literature produced under authoritarian conditions is to assume that it must be an act of rebellion or at least critique. Maybe not quite Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn’s “The Gulag Archipelago” but, at the very least, Boris Pasternak’s “Doctor Zhivago.”

Liu’s novels offer various permissions for this kind of interpretation, beginning with the way he features his country’s Cultural Revolution, depicting it as a primal horror that leads a character to such deep rage and disillusionment that she willingly collaborates with an alien civilization bent on the conquest of Earth. In the Chinese-language original, the Cultural Revolution material was planted midway through the story; in the English translation, it was brought to the front, and Liu has said that this is what he intended all along, that the English version is the truer one and the Chinese version was artistically warped to escape the censors’ eyes.

From this telling use of Chinese Communist history and even more telling English-language alteration, you can proceed to a reading like the one offered initially in this essay by Reason magazine’s Peter Suderman, where the entire story of interstellar conflict, between an earthbound humanity and advanced aliens who have a way to observe our every move and impede our scientific progress while their invasion fleet gradually approaches, reads as a commentary on China’s “surveillance authoritarianism.” As with earthlings under the high-tech eye of the aliens, so with the subjects of China’s regime: Like Liu’s invasion-shadowed human beings, Suderman writes, “Chinese citizens are always being watched, always being spied upon, creating a climate of fear and distrust and paranoia, and repressing the sort of free back and forth that is necessary to both scientific progress and cultural cohesion.”

But then read this 2019 profile of Liu in The New Yorker by Jiayang Fan, and you may arrive at a very different way of thinking about his novels. Maybe the interstellar clash of civilizations is meant to evoke China’s rise and America’s resistance to its rise, but the aliens aren’t the oppressive regime in Beijing. Instead, they’re stand-ins for the Americans, for us: a civilization that’s more technologically advanced and, for now, better armed than its emerging rival but destined to be overmastered unless it can find a way to divide and suppress and distract and demoralize. The various mechanisms the aliens use to keep the earthlings down are like manifestations of American power as perceived in a paranoid China — American surveillance and spycraft and economic sabotage, American pop cultural sludge, maybe even American democracy promotion.

Faced with these kinds of threats, the human beings in the story — which is to say, in this interpretation, the fictional analogues to today’s Chinese government and Chinese citizens — simply can’t afford any kind of liberal sentimentalism. They need to accept the necessity of some kind of authoritarian rule, some degree of Big Brotherism, and act ruthlessly when confronted with the harsh zero-sum nature of civilizational competition. This description from Fan’s profile captures how this plays out in the books, which get darker and stranger as they go:

Although physics furnishes the novels’ premises, it is politics that drives the plots. At every turn, the characters are forced to make brutal calculations in which moral absolutism is pitted against the greater good. In their pursuit of survival, men and women employ Machiavellian game theory and adopt a bleak consequentialism. In Liu’s fictional universe, idealism is fatal and kindness an exorbitant luxury. As one general says in the trilogy, “In a time of war, we can’t afford to be too scrupulous.” Indeed, it is usually when people do not play by the rules of realpolitik that the most lives are lost.

When Fan pushes Liu on his political views, she gets a similar perspective: Not a liberal author pushing against the limits imposed by a dictatorship but someone who basically shares that dictatorship’s view of human nature and defends most of its policies — internment of Muslim Uyghurs, the now-defunct one-child policy, the basic lineaments of its authoritarian system — even if he’s also willing to portray and make artistic use of some of its more egregious Mao-era crimes:

I couldn’t help asking Liu if he ever thought he might have been brainwashed. “I know what you are thinking,” he told me with weary clarity. “What about individual liberty and freedom of governance?” He sighed, as if exhausted by a debate going on in his head. “But that’s not what Chinese people care about. For ordinary folks, it’s the cost of health care, real-estate prices, their children’s education. Not democracy.” I looked at him, studying his face. He blinked, and continued, “If you were to loosen up the country a bit, the consequences would be terrifying.” … Liu closed his eyes for a long moment and then said quietly, “This is why I don’t like to talk about subjects like this. The truth is you don’t really — I mean, can’t truly — understand.” He gestured around him. “You’ve lived here, in the U.S., for, what, going on three decades?” The implication was clear: Years in the West had brainwashed me. In that moment, in Liu’s mind, I, with my inflexible sense of morality, was the alien.

Then to this darker interpretation of the story, add a third: The interpretation suggested by the Netflix adaptation, whose version of the story is less China-centric, with more action set in Britain and a multiracial gaggle of young scientists with dating problems added to the plot. (I concur with Alex Tabarrok’s view that the young scientist characters are way too much like normal people in an “Alien Invasion: 90210”-style soap opera, without enough of “the obsessiveness, ambition and unconventionality often found in real-world geniuses.”)

If you come to the TV version fresh, without exposure to the books, you may find yourself thinking less about the Chinese-American rivalry and more about the general position of the developed West in recent decades: a rich and powerful society struggling to make economic and technological advancements that match the achievements of the 20th century while dealing with internal divisions and existential doubts.

The story offers an exaggerated depiction of this real-world sense of futility and angst, giving us scientists killing themselves and abandoning cutting-edge projects instead of just a slowdown in innovation or laboratory results that suddenly stop making any sense at all in place of the replication crisis that our own academy is dealing with or a video game headset built with alien technology rather than just the virtual snares we’re building for ourselves.

But that exaggeration still feels like a striking commentary on our own situation, with even the pervasive alien surveillance, as Suderman notes later in his essay, reading “as much like a comment on social media and cancel culture as it does on Chinese totalitarianism.”

Which in turn lends itself to the reading of the show offered by James Pethokoukis, who writes frequently on themes of stagnation. What if our years of relative disappointment, driven by “the surprise slowdown in tech progress and productivity growth since the early 1970s,” is actually the work of malign would-be invaders from elsewhere in the galaxy? After all, if there were some kind of alien observers “bopping around the planet and messing with us, how would the results be any different than what we’ve experienced for the past half century?”

Maybe that explains the weird craft that Navy pilots keep reporting. Maybe the faction in our government that seemingly wants people to believe that we have some sort of alien vessel in our possession is also responsible for the Netflix adaptation of Liu’s novel, injecting the idea of an alien threat into the pop-culture discourse in order to prepare us …

OK, I’ve said too much. (They’re always watching.) Let’s just retreat to safer ground and say that what I’m describing, this Western-centric interpretation of “The Three-Body Problem,” is a fascinating example of how translation both subtracts and adds to the meaning of a given work. In one trilogy of novels and its cultural journey, you can discern different portraits of our age of civilizational conflict, connected but distant, orbiting one another in a complicated dance.

Noah Smith on World War III .

Nathaniel Rich on U.F.O.s .

Andrew Delbanco on Norman Mailer’s arrival .

Mary Harrington on reactionary futurism .

Ann Manov revives the literary takedown.

Judith Shulevitz on adult liberation through children’s eyes .

Curtis Yarvin and Christopher Rufo exchange insults .

This Week in Decadence

“ Navy cancels ship briefings after damning internal report ,” Politico (April 7).

As the Navy’s largest U.S. trade show gets underway on Monday, officers in charge of the service’s marquee shipbuilding programs won’t offer the usual briefings with reporters and analysts about them. That break from the tradition of sharing program updates at the Navy’s Sea-Air-Space Exposition comes just days after the Navy announced that four of its most critical shipbuilding programs are years behind schedule. The Navy’s top admiral and civilian secretary have still not responded to questions about a damning Navy report released Tuesday outlining the sweeping failure of the Navy and its industrial partners to make expected progress on two submarine programs, an aircraft carrier and a new class of frigates. … The delays, from one to three years each depending on the program, come as the Navy and Pentagon pour billions into modernizing and upgrading shipyards in an attempt to build and repair ships more quickly and keep pace with China. Beijing’s navy has already surpassed the U.S. in size.

Ross Douthat has been an Opinion columnist for The Times since 2009. He is the author, most recently, of “The Deep Places: A Memoir of Illness and Discovery.” @ DouthatNYT • Facebook