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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 Organize your team of teams around the entire customer journey, so that everyone has a 360-degree view of the customer. — Ashok Reddy, Forbes, "Three Strategies For Successfully Innovating At Scale," 10 May 2021 As Cora discovers, the journey does not always proceed in a straight line, and the digressive nature of the series can be frustrating. — Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, "‘The Underground Railroad’: Barry Jenkins’ Gorgeous Journey Into American Darkness," 10 May 2021 The video tells the remarkable personal journey of Auburn linebacker Wesley Steiner. — Matt Scalici | Mscalici@al.com, al, "AL.com Sports video team wins national acclaim, three Southeast Emmy nominations," 10 May 2021 In Oxnard, Melissa was warmly greeted by her brother and sister, as well as her cousin, who had made the journey from Guatemala with her. — Mark Abramson, New York Times, "‘Will I Recognize You?’ She Traveled 2,500 Miles to Reach Her Mother.," 9 May 2021 For a great family experience, put in at Happy Camp and enjoy the views on the 20-mile journey to Dillon Creek. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, "The 7 Best Kayaking Trips in the U.S. for Adventure Seekers," 9 May 2021 During the journey, Yeyli said, her family was abducted by a Mexican cartel for a day. — Natacha Larnaud, CBS News, "Kidnapped, freezing and scared: Families recount their harrowing journeys across the border," 7 May 2021 But Republicans have seized on the influx of migrants at the border in recent months, claiming the administration has created more incentives for people to attempt the dangerous journey north. — Quinn Owen, ABC News, "Some immigration trends turn in Biden's favor as security chief visits border," 7 May 2021 Pratt, who spent more than two decades showcasing the incredibly exciting, complex, and emotional journey of growing up as a young Black woman, isn't done yet. — Michella Oré, Glamour, "Kyla Pratt Swears By This Brand For Healthy, Moisturized Hair," 6 May 2021 Recent Examples on the Web: Verb Every year, people journey from all over the world to hike, bike, and climb the rocky terrain or catch the spring wildflower bloom. — Evie Carrick, Travel + Leisure, "7 Amazing RV Campgrounds in Joshua Tree National Park," 10 Apr. 2021 Before the pandemic, travelers could journey restriction-free between nations without going through customs or getting a passport stamp. — Geoff Whitmore, Forbes, "What Is A Vaccine Passport And Will We Need One?," 9 Apr. 2021 Hurricanes battered Guatemala and Honduras recently, and climate change has rendered land less productive, further pushing people to journey to the United States in a gamble for a better life. — New York Times, "Thousands of Migrant Children Detained in Resumption of Trump-Era Policies," 26 Feb. 2021 The torch will arrive in Tokyo on July 9 and will journey around the Japanese capital until the opening ceremony on July 23. Spectators who try to catch a glimpse of the torch have been told to socially distance and refrain from cheering. — Cailey Rizzo, Travel + Leisure, "The Olympic Torch Begins Its 121-day Journey Around Japan," 25 Mar. 2021 Then come the refreshment trolleys—service providers, like buy-now-pay-later firms, that purport to make the payments journey more pleasant. — The Economist, "Scaling the peak America used to be behind on digital payments. Not any more," 20 Mar. 2021 Their work is regularly supplemented by a pool of sympathetic private nurses and doctors who also journey from neighborhood to neighborhood each night, often after finishing their day jobs. — New York Times, "‘How Many Funerals Will Come Out of This One?’," 17 Feb. 2021 Airports and airlines are also piloting and fast-tracking a wide range of biometric technology and other tools that make the airport journey a bit more touch-free. — Harriet Baskas, USA TODAY, "Delivery robots to digital health apps: 5 ways your next airport visit could be contactless," 6 Jan. 2021 Her aspirations are to continue to journey the road less traveled, attend Harvard University and major in Genetics while participating in the Harvard Ballet Company. — NOLA.com, "St. Tammany Parish Public Schools name district Students of the Year," 23 Jan. 2021

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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Last Updated

13 May 2021

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“Journey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/journey. Accessed 17 May. 2021.

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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.