traveled or travelled; traveling or travelling
ˈtra-və-liŋ 
ˈtrav-liŋ
1
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
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
see also:
USAGE
The forms traveled and traveling are typical in the US, while travelled and travelling are dominant everywhere else.
1
2
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
trav·el·ing
ˈtra-və-liŋ
ˈtrav-liŋ
variants
or travelling
1
: going to different places instead of staying in one place
a traveling opera company
a traveling executive
Traveling merchants carried the caps to Mexico City, where tourists bought them.—
Ambar Past
see also traveling salesman
Ambar Past2
: carried by, used by, or accompanying a traveler
a traveling alarm clock
a traveling companion
Another useful traveling tool is the compass.—Barbara Riedel Sheedy
Barbara Riedel SheedyExamples 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.
Adjective
a troupe of traveling actors
Recent Examples on the Web
Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 16 June 2026
The Cabrera family from Chicago traveled to Miami to attend Monday’s match and the Sunday game between Uruguay and Cape Verde.
—Miami Herald, 16 June 2026
Chris McKenna, New York Times, 17 June 2026
Tang Jennings endured about 20 hours of travel time to get to Kansas City from Nanjing, China.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026
Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Hang, 17, and Sullivan, 18, were named as non-traveling alternates.
—Rebecca Tauber, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for travel
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Verb
Players and Ghalenoei also bemoaned that they were forced to travel to Los Angeles the day before the match, rather than two days prior, arriving the afternoon of Sunday, June 14.
—Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 16 June 2026
The Cabrera family from Chicago traveled to Miami to attend Monday’s match and the Sunday game between Uruguay and Cape Verde.
—Miami Herald, 16 June 2026
Noun
Thousands would still be expected to travel across the Atlantic, especially if it was staged in a popular travel destination such as Las Vegas.
—Chris McKenna, New York Times, 17 June 2026
Tang Jennings endured about 20 hours of travel time to get to Kansas City from Nanjing, China.
—Pete Grathoff, Kansas City Star, 17 June 2026
Adjective
The story follows rival illusionists Celia and Marco in a magical, traveling Victorian circus.
—Literary Hub, 3 Apr. 2026
Hang, 17, and Sullivan, 18, were named as non-traveling alternates.
—Rebecca Tauber, New York Times, 1 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for travel
Cite this Entry
“Travel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travel. Accessed 17 Jun. 2026.
Copy CitationKids Definition
travel
2 of 2 noun1
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."
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