travel

verb trav·el \ ˈtra-vəl \

Definition of travel

traveled or travelled; traveling or travelling play \ˈtra-və-liŋ, 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 light

:to travel with a minimum of equipment or baggage

See travel defined for English-language learners

See travel defined for kids

Examples of travel in a Sentence

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.

Recent Examples of travel from the Web

Still, IS militants have launched several lethal attacks on troops stationed there or traveling on the highway to nearby towns.

— karin laub, The Seattle Times, "Jordan, Iraq reopen border crossing, vital to trade," 30 Aug. 2017
Trump, wearing a black rain slicker emblazoned with a presidential seal, traveled with first lady Melania Trump and Cabinet secretaries who will play key roles in the recovery.

— ken thomas and darlene superville, chicagotribune.com, "Trump reassures those in Harvey's path that he will help," 30 Aug. 2017
Kentucky travels to Southern Mississippi to open the 2017 season, marking the first time the team has played a nonconference road game somewhere other than rival Louisville since 2005 (Indiana).

— jon hale, The Courier-Journal, "Kentucky Football | Why UK is opening the season at Southern Mississippi," 30 Aug. 2017
Through her research grant, Benjamin will travel to Dallas, Austin, Birmingham and Raleigh to collect data.

— Daily Southtown, "Community news," 30 Aug. 2017
Trump traveled to Springfield on Wednesday to discuss tax cuts during an event at Loren Cook Co., which manufactures fans, blowers and laboratory exhaust systems.

— bryan lowry and jason hancock, kansascity, "Trump: If McCaskill doesn’t support tax cuts, ‘you have to vote her out of office’," 30 Aug. 2017
After Paris, van der Elsken traveled extensively — to Hong Kong, Sierra Leone, Manila, Oaxaca, and over a dozen trips to Japan — and later returned to the Netherlands.

— sarah moroz, The Cut, "Intimate Street Photography by Ed van der Elsken," 30 Aug. 2017
Corcoran travels regularly and far from his Pasco district to boost his visibility and build a base.

— by steve bousquet, miamiherald, "How Florida’s House speaker is preparing for a possible run for governor," 28 Aug. 2017
The ship not only traveled through the Arctic in record time, but has done so without the use of an icebreaker escort.

— david grossman, Popular Mechanics, "Russian Tanker Just Set an Arctic Speed Record," 25 Aug. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of travel

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 14th century

See Words from the same year

travel Synonyms

Synonyms

journey, peregrinate, pilgrimage, tour, trek, trip, voyage

Antonyms

crawl, creep, poke

Related Words

gallivant (also galavant), hop, jaunt, knock (about), perambulate, ramble, roam, rove, traipse, wander; migrate, road-trip; bus, cab, coach, cruise, drive, fly, gig, jet, motor, navigate, ride, roll, sail, trundle; barnstorm

Near Antonyms

dally, dawdle, dillydally, drag, hang (around or out), lag, linger, loiter, poke, tarry; amble, lumber, plod, saunter, shuffle, stroll; decelerate, slow (down or up)

travel

noun

Definition of travel

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

See travel defined for English-language learners

Examples of travel in a Sentence

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 of travel from the Web

The carrier issued a travel advisory asking people not to attempt to reach Hobby Airport.

— stephanie rosenbloom, New York Times, "With Houston Airports Closed, Airlines Cancel Thousands of Flights," 28 Aug. 2017
Products: Miami merchandise and souvenirs including T-shirts, toys, hats, beach bags, key chains, magnets, snacks, beverages, travel accessories and gifts.

— by shayne benowitz, miamiherald, "‘Miami’s merchant to the millions’ began by breaking boundaries," 27 Aug. 2017
The Bay of Pigs Invasion in April 1961 had resulted in a travel ban.

— kat eschner, Smithsonian, "How Mary Hemingway and JFK Got Ernest Hemingway’s Legacy Out of Cuba," 25 Aug. 2017
The NAACP circulated a travel advisory against traveling to Missouri earlier this month after the state passed a law that Missouri's NAACP conference says allows for legal discrimination.

— paula rogo, Essence.com, "Car Rams Into St. Louis Crowd At Vigil For Transgender Woman Kiwi Herring," 24 Aug. 2017
Nearly two decades later, the 31-year-old Clarksville dentist will take to the sea aboard his own sailboat, named Wisdom, and travel across the Atlantic Ocean with his wife, Maddie, to explore a handful of countries and islands over the next year.

— andrew michaels, Howard County Times, "Husband, wife to sail Atlantic during yearlong voyage," 24 Aug. 2017
While TUI and rival tour operators such as Thomas Cook Group Plc had to cope with major changes in travel habits in the wake of the first attacks in Europe claimed by so called Islamic State, the level of dislocation has decreased with each one.

— christopher jasper, Bloomberg.com, "Europeans Won't Let Terror Spoil Their Vacations, TUI Says," 22 Aug. 2017
Deal to shop: American Tourister Luggage is up to 50% - perfect for your fall travel.

— lindsey murray, Good Housekeeping, "The Best Labor Day Sales You Need to Shop," 21 Aug. 2017
Jean-Georges draws a lot of inspiration from travel.

— rebecca dolan, Esquire, "What an Internationally Renowned Chef Makes Every Day to Eat Clean," 15 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of travel

14th century

travel Synonyms

Synonyms

expedition, passage, peregrination, travel (s), trek, trip

Related Words

commutation, commute, errand, excursion, flight, hop, jaunt, junket, outing, sally, sortie, tour; cruise, sail, voyage; drive, ride, spin; grand tour, odyssey, pilgrimage, progress, quest, safari; hike, slog, tramp, walk, walkabout

TRAVEL Defined for English Language Learners

travel

verb

Definition of travel for English Language Learners

: to go on a trip or journey : to go to a place and especially one that is far away
: to go through or over (a place) during a trip or journey
: to move from one place to another

travel

noun

Definition of travel for English Language Learners

: the act or activity of traveling
travels : trips or journeys to distant places

TRAVEL Defined for Kids

travel

verb trav·el \ ˈtra-vəl \

Definition of travel for Students

traveled or travelled; traveling or travelling

1 :to journey from place to place or to a distant place

2 :to get around :pass from one place to another

The news traveled fast.

3 :to journey through or over

We're traveling the countryside.

—

traveler

or traveller noun

History for travel

For many of us travel is usually for pleasure, so that we are unlikely to associate travel with hard labor or torture. However, the ultimate source of travel is a spoken Latin verb trepaliare, “to torture,” derived from trepalium, a name for an instrument of torture. Trepaliare developed into medieval French travailler, which meant “to torture or torment,” as well as “to suffer or labor.” Middle English borrowed the French verb as travailen with the same sense. But the difficulties of getting from place to place in the Middle Ages, when any journey was an exhausting effort, led medieval speakers of English to apply travailen to making a trip. We still use the word, though travel is now much easier.