sojourn

1 of 2

noun

so·​journ ˈsō-ˌjərn How to pronounce sojourn (audio)
sō-ˈjərn
: a temporary stay
a sojourn in the country

sojourn

2 of 2

verb

so·​journ ˈsō-ˌjərn How to pronounce sojourn (audio)
sō-ˈjərn
sojourned; sojourning; sojourns

intransitive verb

: to stay as a temporary resident : stop
sojourned for a month at a resort
sojourner noun

Examples of sojourn in a Sentence

Noun The visit with my father was preceded by a sojourn with my sister, Joy—an artistic type and sometime vegan who plays the part of patient vegetarian whenever her unrepentantly carnivorous brother drops in—and her husband, who were kind enough to pick me up at Heathrow. John Haney, Gourmet, January 2003
On a recent sojourn in Sicily, I frequently found myself remembering that page in the children's encyclopedia, because it seemed to me that what I was seeing was as close as I will ever come to the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Francine Prose, Atlantic, December 2002
My mother is Venezuelan, and every year during my childhood we spent a two-month sojourn with her family there. Alexandra Starr, New Republic, 20 May 2002
Our family enjoyed a two-week sojourn in the mountains. spent a relaxing sojourn in her friend's summer home Verb 'Am I hideous, Jane?' 'Very, sir: you always were, you know.' 'Humph! The wickedness has not been taken out of you, wherever you have sojourned.' Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre, 1847
… there abode, in a remote period of American history, that is to say, some thirty years since, a worthy wight of the name of Ichabod Crane, who sojourned, or, as he expressed it, "tarried," in Sleepy Hollow, for the purpose of instructing the children of the vicinity. Washington Irving, The Legend of Sleep Hollow, 1820
began their retirement by leisurely sojourning with friends and relatives scattered across the country
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
In the early days of our relationship, my now husband and I gave up our jobs, packed our harem pants into oversized backpacks, and set off on a six-month sojourn around Southeast Asia. Emma Pearson, Condé Nast Traveler, 23 Feb. 2024 About 15,000 gray whales idle past Southern California on their annual sojourn, according to Viezbicke. Noah Goldberg, Los Angeles Times, 9 Feb. 2024 Last year, ProPublica reported that for decades Thomas has taken undisclosed luxury vacations, paid for by the Republican donor Harlan Crow, including tropical sojourns on Crow’s superyacht and visits to the secretive California retreat Bohemian Grove, where Thomas befriended the Koch brothers. Evan Osnos, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024 This question comes from the guide and facilitator of my sojourn, Jerry Mpufane, who is head of marketing for South Africa’s tourism board. Jasmine Browley, Essence, 15 Dec. 2023 Bong Joon Ho makes his first appearance on The Simpsons, as the family's sojourn as fraudulent servants to a wealthy family follows the Oscar-winning Parasite's (2019) plot in so-so lockstep. Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 24 Nov. 2023 The 24-day summer sojourn departs Greenwich outside of London on July 14 and calls upon 17 ports in England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland, Iceland, Greenland, and Canada. Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 5 Feb. 2024 Bushman’s Gabriel is three months into his American sojourn as the film opens. Sheri Linden, The Hollywood Reporter, 31 Jan. 2024 Consider snagging a chic passport holder, a Traveler-favorite belt bag, a customizable piece of luggage that’ll last for years on end, or an uber-versatile weekender bag that’s great for shorter sojourns. Lauren Dana Ellman, Condé Nast Traveler, 31 Oct. 2023
Verb
The group had sojourned to Badwater Basin, the park’s lowest point and the lowest point in North America, which sits 282 feet below sea level. Hayley Smith, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2023 The new study, published this week in Nature Communications, bolsters evidence that modern humans sojourned out of Africa more than once and traveled vast distances—although these precocious migrants likely didn’t contribute many, if any, genes to modern populations. Byscience News Staff, science.org, 15 June 2023 Regardless, Bolsonaro—who has still refused to concede the election—now may be skipping his successor’s inauguration and ditching his wife to sojourn in Florida for up to two months. Prem Thakker, The New Republic, 28 Dec. 2022 The Red Wings sojourn through the Great White North, this time facing the Oilers. Andrew Hammond, Detroit Free Press, 16 Mar. 2022 Organizer Bob Hannaford said the swingers sojourn in New Orleans was initially scheduled for the summer but was postponed because of the pandemic. Matt Sledge, NOLA.com, 13 Nov. 2020 The safest way to sojourn into the haunted, creepy and macabre, especially during a pandemic, is never to leave home. Kirby Adams, The Courier-Journal, 27 Oct. 2020 For two weeks in August each year, the family would sojourn to the Atlantic Coast for a vacation, first at Ocean City and later at Bethany Beach and elsewhere. Jacob Wallace, Washington Post, 22 May 2020 To the city folk who sojourn there, West Marin is an agrarian idyll. Leilani Marie Labong, SFChronicle.com, 21 May 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sojourn.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English sojorn, from Anglo-French sujur, sujurn, from sujurner — see sojourn entry 2

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French sujurner, sejurner, from Vulgar Latin *subdiurnare, from Latin sub under, during + Late Latin diurnum day — more at up, journey

First Known Use

Noun

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of sojourn was in the 13th century

Dictionary Entries Near sojourn

Cite this Entry

“Sojourn.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sojourn. Accessed 18 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

sojourn

1 of 2 noun
so·​journ ˈsō-ˌjərn How to pronounce sojourn (audio)
sō-ˈjərn
: a temporary stay

sojourn

2 of 2 verb
: to stay as a temporary resident : stop
sojourned for a month at a resort
sojourner noun

More from Merriam-Webster on sojourn

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