cruises

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of cruise.

   Many retirees plan two or three cruises a year once they stop working.

   Storms in the region forced the company to cancel its autumn cruises.

   Note

   One spelling, two jobs: the plural noun shares its letters with the verb's present tense, and only the sentence tells them apart, as in two cruises a year versus the ferry cruises daily. As a plural it covers every kind of cruise, from pleasure voyages to an aircraft's level stretches between climb and descent, and in informal US use, stints in the Marine Corps.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular simple present of cruise.

   The ferry cruises between the two islands on a fixed daily schedule.

   He cruises the back roads on weekends just to clear his head.

   Note

   The verb form works in two constructions. It is intransitive when a ship or plane simply travels at a steady pace (the jet cruises at altitude). It is transitive when someone moves through a place looking for something (a cab cruises the avenues for fares). In colloquial use that transitive pattern can also mean seeking a romantic or casual partner, so the setting decides how it reads.

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