travel

1 of 2

verb

trav·​el ˈtra-vəl How to pronounce travel (audio)
traveled or travelled; traveling or travelling ˈtra-və-liŋ How to pronounce travel (audio)
ˈtrav-liŋ

intransitive verb

1
a
: to go on or as if on a trip or tour : journey
b(1)
: to go as if by traveling : pass
the news traveled fast
(2)
: associate
travels with a sophisticated crowd
c
: to go from place to place as a sales representative or business agent
2
a(1)
: to move or undergo transmission from one place to another
goods traveling by plane
(2)
: to withstand relocation successfully
a dish that travels well
b
: to move in a given direction or path or through a given distance
the stylus travels in a groove
c
: to move rapidly
a car that can really travel
3
: to take more steps while holding a basketball than the rules allow

transitive verb

1
a
: to journey through or over
b
: to follow (a course or path) as if by traveling
2
: to traverse (a specified distance)
3
: to cover (an area) as a commercial traveler

travel

2 of 2

noun

1
a
: the act of traveling : passage
b
: a journey especially to a distant or unfamiliar place : tour, trip
often used in plural
2
travels plural : an account of one's travels
3
: the number traveling : traffic
4
a
: movement, progression
the travel of satellites around the earth
b
: the motion of a piece of machinery
especially : reciprocating motion
Phrases
travel light
: to travel with a minimum of equipment or baggage

Examples of travel in a Sentence

Verb The birds are traveling south for the winter. His job requires him to travel frequently. She enjoys traveling around Europe. They traveled cross-country from New York to California. The pain traveled down his back. the way that sound travels in an empty room That car was really traveling when it passed us. The order is traveling by plane. Noun She doesn't enjoy foreign travel. Air travel was affected by the storm. The book discusses the future of travel in outer space. We extended our travels for another week.
Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Verb
Word traveled quickly to Trump, who was holding a rally with supporters in Pittsburgh at the time. Brett Samuels, The Hill, 5 Nov. 2024 The Chiefs tight end, for his part, has traveled all over the world to watch the 14-time Grammy winner bring her Eras Tour to as many countries as possible. Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 5 Nov. 2024
Noun
Some organizations may also be able to leverage AI to mitigate some of the environmental impacts of doing business—from driving supply chain efficiency to improving logistics and reducing travel. Eric Miquelon, Forbes, 5 Nov. 2024 Spencer Platt | Getty Images Former President Donald Trump’s universal tariff proposals could cause prices to skyrocket on clothing, toys, furniture, household appliances, footwear and travel goods, according to a new report from the National Retail Federation. Annie Nova,rebecca Picciotto, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for travel 

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English travailen, travelen to torment, labor, strive, journey, from Anglo-French travailler

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Noun

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler
The first known use of travel was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near travel

Cite this Entry

“Travel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travel. Accessed 14 Nov. 2024.

Kids Definition

travel

1 of 2 verb
trav·​el ˈtrav-əl How to pronounce travel (audio)
traveled or travelled; traveling or travelling -(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce travel (audio)
1
: to journey from place to place or to a distant place
2
: to move or advance from one place to another
the news traveled fast

travel

2 of 2 noun
1
a
: the act or means of traveling
air travel is fast
b
: journey entry 1, trip
often used in plural
2
plural : an account of one's travels
Etymology

Verb

Middle English travailen "torment, labor, strive, journey," from early French travailler "torment, labor," from an unrecorded Latin verb tripaliare "to torture," from Latin tripalium "an instrument of torture," literally "three stakes," derived from tri- "three" and palus "stake, pale" — related to pale entry 3, travail

Word Origin
With our modern cars, ships, and airplanes and our many restaurants and hotels, travel today is not difficult. But in the Middle Ages roads were poor and places to eat and sleep were far apart. Travel was hard, uncomfortable work—even torture. In fact, our word travel comes from a Latin word that meant "torture." Many devices were used in the Middle Ages for torture in an effort to force confessions from persons accused of crimes. One of these devices, called in Latin a tripalium, gave us our word travel. The word tripalium, literally "three stakes," was derived from Latin tri-, meaning "three" and palus, meaning "stake, pale." This word is thought to have been the source of the Latin verb tripaliare, meaning "to torture." In early French the word became travailler, with both the meaning "to torment" and the meaning "to work hard." This early French word was taken into Middle English as travailen, with the meaning "to work hard" and "to travel." In time these two meanings became separated into different words, travail, which means "hard work," and travel, which means "to go on a trip."

More from Merriam-Webster on travel

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!