journey

jour·ney | \ ˈjər-nē

How to pronounce journey (audio)

\

plural journeys

Definition of journey

(Entry 1 of 2)

1 : something suggesting travel or passage from one place to another the journey from youth to maturity a journey through time

2 : an act or instance of traveling from one place to another : trip a three-day journey going on a long journey

3 chiefly dialectal : a day's travel

journey

journeyed; journeying

Definition of journey (Entry 2 of 2)

intransitive verb

: to go on a journey : travel

transitive verb

: to travel over or through

Other Words from journey Synonyms Did You Know? More Example Sentences Learn More about journey

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Did You Know?

The Latin adjective diurnus means “pertaining to a day, daily”; English diurnal stems ultimately from this word. When Latin developed into French, diurnus became a noun, jour, meaning simply “day” The medieval French derivative journee meant either “day” or “something done during the day,” such as work or travel. Middle English borrowed journee as journey in both senses, but only the sense “a day’s travel” survived into modern usage. In modern English, journey now refers to a trip without regard to the amount of time it takes. The verb journey developed from the noun and is first attested in the 14th century.

Examples of journey in a Sentence

Noun a long journey across the country She's on the last leg of a six-month journey through Europe. We wished her a safe and pleasant journey. Verb She was the first woman to journey into space. an intense yearning to journey to distant lands

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun Making a wise, informed choice on your first puppy starts the journey off on the right foot. — Phil Bourjaily, Field & Stream, "How to Choose Your First Bird-Dog Puppy," 23 Mar. 2020 Whatever the final result, the journey is certain to be a bumpy one. — Erik Sherman, Fortune, "Most second quarter GDP forecasts now range from horrible (-8%) to catastrophic (-15%)," 20 Mar. 2020 The Bullitt most recently logged its longest journey when social media editor Michael Aaron clocked over 1200 miles on a round trip from Car and Driver HQ in Ann Arbor to his hometown of Greenwich, Connecticut. — Eric Stafford, Car and Driver, "Our Ford Mustang Bullitt Remains a Lovable Steed Through an Unlovable Season," 16 Mar. 2020 There's also a new Continental tire as the default, but given that our journey would start in Ohio in January, all four cars wore Pirelli Sottozero winter tires. — Jonathan M. Gitlin, Ars Technica, "1,200 uncomfortable miles in a gorgeous Acura NSX hybrid supercar," 12 Mar. 2020 Just like many Pixar classics, the journey is full of twists and turns that leave the brothers at odds with their goal of meeting their father. — Nicole Ludden, azcentral, "'Onward' is a moving emotional tale, but it's not quite as good as other Pixar successes," 4 Mar. 2020 Taking off from Europe, planes did not yet have the range to fly non-stop to West Africa, and the journey was slow. — Hella Pick, Condé Nast Traveler, "At 90, Foreign Correspondent Hella Pick Looks Back at a Life Full of Travel," 2 Mar. 2020 Plot twist Mark Jorgensen began his long journey home on Feb. 16. — Alice Chambers, ABC News, "Couple separated by Pacific Ocean -- and coronavirus," 2 Mar. 2020 But parcel drones will have to fly low, at least for part of their journeys. — The Economist, "Drones’ self defence As delivery drones multiply, they may need to protect themselves," 27 Feb. 2020 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb One journeyed inside the mind of a child to meet the emotions that made her tick, while the other saw a young boy on a musical jaunt through the land of the dead. — Nick Romano, EW.com, "Pixar bares its Soul in first look at film with Jamie Foxx and Tina Fey," 6 Nov. 2019 The Psyche mission will journey to a unique metal-rich asteroid, also named Psyche, which orbits the Sun between Mars and Jupiter. — Eric Berger, Ars Technica, "Rocket Report: Psyched up for Falcon Heavy, another SLS launch delay," 6 Mar. 2020 Starting in Alice Springs, Davidson journeyed through parts of the Australian outback unknown to most, ultimately walking her way to the Indian Ocean. — Mélissa Godin, Time, "7 Female Trekkers Who Helped Reclaim Nature, One Step at a Time," 28 Feb. 2020 But the story of how the ring journeyed from 1973, Maine, to 2020, Finland, is a mystery. — Francisco Guzman And Brian Ries, CNN, "A woman's class ring that she lost in Maine in 1973 was just found buried in a forest in Finland," 18 Feb. 2020 Forty-six heads of state journeyed to Jerusalem for the Fifth World Holocaust Forum, marking the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. — Nicola Brady, Condé Nast Traveler, "The Security and Politics of Hosting a Dozen World Leaders in One Hotel," 7 Feb. 2020 Baylor athletic director Mack Rhoades journeyed to Dallas to visit with potential donors this week. — Chuck Carlton, Dallas News, "Year of the Bear 2.0: How scandals and uncertainty gave way to some ‘remarkable’ successes for Baylor athletics," 1 Feb. 2020 Idris Elba journeyed to Sierra Leone, his late father’s native country, for the first time, where he was given honorary citizenship. — Thr Staff, The Hollywood Reporter, "Ghana to Tahiti, Hollywood Spent the Holidays in Far-Flung Locales," 8 Jan. 2020 By Martin Enserink, Science Photography by Tom Bouyer, Expedition 5300 Journalist Martin Enserink journeyed high into the Andes to write about research into the effects of chronic mountain sickness — traveling, effectively, into thin air. — Stat Staff, STAT, "We wish we’d written that: STAT staffers share their favorite stories of 2019," 24 Dec. 2019

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'journey.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Learn More about journey

Dictionary Entries near journey

journal voucher

Statistics for journey

Last Updated

29 Mar 2020

Cite this Entry

“Journey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/journey. Accessed 31 Mar. 2020.

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More Definitions for journey

journey

noun

English Language Learners Definition of journey

(Entry 1 of 2)

: an act of traveling from one place to another

journey

verb

English Language Learners Definition of journey (Entry 2 of 2)

: to go on a journey

See the full definition for journey in the English Language Learners Dictionary

journey

jour·ney | \ ˈjər-nē

\

plural journeys

Kids Definition of journey

(Entry 1 of 2)

: an act of traveling from one place to another

journey

journeyed; journeying

Kids Definition of journey (Entry 2 of 2)

: to travel to a distant place

Choose the Right Synonym for journey

Noun

journey, trip, and tour mean travel from one place to another. journey usually means traveling a long distance and often in dangerous or difficult circumstances. They made the long journey across the desert. trip can be used when the traveling is brief, swift, or ordinary. We took our weekly trip to the store. tour is used for a journey with several stops that ends at the place where it began. Sightseers took a tour of the city.

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