travel

verb trav·el \ ˈtra-vəl \

|Updated on: 15 Jun 2018

Examples: travel in a Sentence

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

Many militants are disaffected by poverty and unemployment, and some have reportedly traveled to regional countries, including Kenya, Tanzania and Somalia, for religious or military training, according to a study released last month in Maputo.

— Washington Post, "Extremist attacks rise in energy-rich province in Mozambique," 11 June 2018
Gilliam, whose long-anticipated The Man Who Killed Don Quixote closed Cannes this year, will travel to the Bavarian capital July 7 to receive the honor.

— scott roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, "Munich Film Festival to Honor Terry Gilliam and Emma Thompson," 11 June 2018
As part of her work, Spencer travels from North Carolina to Florida, collecting seafood from sushi shops, supermarkets, and restaurants that is labeled as red snapper.

— michael nichols, National Geographic, "Here’s What It Really Means to Become a National Geographic Explorer," 11 June 2018
On June 17, Justify will travel to Baffert's base in Southern California to await his next move.

— beth harris, Houston Chronicle, "Owners: Triple Crown winner Justify will race again," 11 June 2018
And Mexico’s former attorney general, Raúl Cervantes, who personally oversaw the case during his tenure, even traveled to Brazil to discuss the evidence that the authorities had gathered there.

— azam ahmed, New York Times, "Mexico Could Press Bribery Charges. It Just Hasn’t.," 11 June 2018
What’s next Following the meeting, Pompeo will travel to Beijing, Tokyo, and Seoul to brief regional powers on the talks.

— andy sharp, Bloomberg.com, "Here’s What to Watch for When Trump and Kim Meet," 11 June 2018
To find clergy, Soroka traveled to Ukraine where priestly vocations are thriving.

— kristin e. holmes, Philly.com, "The archbishop of the Ukrainian Catholic Church in Philadelphia retires and goes home," 10 June 2018
His father traveled the world as a Greek merchant sailor before immigrating to Chicago from a town in what is now Turkey.

— scott dance, baltimoresun.com, "Paul H. Voreacos, retired Westinghouse manager, dies," 10 June 2018

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

in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

See Words from the same year

travel Synonyms

Phrases

beat it, get a move on, make tracks, shake a leg, step on it;

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 competition is underwritten by the Lamar Educational Awards Foundation, which paid for T-shirts, trophies, lunch for the participants and travel costs for all 24 elementary schools.

— staff report, Houston Chronicle, "Hubenak Elementary takes Bluebonnet Book crown," 12 June 2018
Last year, lawmakers in Austin cut the state’s tourism funds in half — from a budget of $67.7 million in 2015 to $34 million to market Texas as a travel destination and conduct research about the state’s tourism economy through 2019.

— joshua fechter, San Antonio Express-News, "San Antonio weighs new hotel fee to raise funds for tourism promotion," 12 June 2018
On June 8, celebrity chef and travel host Bourdain was found dead in his hotel room in Strasbourg, France.

— refinery29.com, "Netflix Just Shared The Best News For Fans Of Anthony Bourdain," 12 June 2018
For a dictatorship, freedom of thought, trade, and travel is a dangerous path.

— The Christian Science Monitor, "A summit that may pop fear in North Korea," 12 June 2018
Portal AR, which is available now from the Apple App and Google Play Stores, is the first travel tool of its kind.

— meilan solly, Smithsonian, "Step Into Scotland With Immersive AR App," 12 June 2018
Harbaugh hasn't published dress lists or travel rosters for a single game during his tenure with the Wolverines.

— nick baumgardner, Detroit Free Press, "Michigan's Jim Harbaugh challenges scholarship players to earn spots," 12 June 2018
The travel-size container holds a weekend’s worth of suds.

— emily reed, Outside Online, "How to Build Your Perfect Car Camping Box," 12 June 2018
Becoming a virtual student became a reality for him when his travel schedule became hectic.

— clevis murray, azcentral, "Valley native Trey Wood prepares for X Games qualifier at local parks," 11 June 2018

First Known Use of travel

14th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

travel Synonyms

Synonyms

expedition, journey, passage, peregrination, trek, trip;

cruise, sail, voyage;

drive, ride, spin;

grand tour, odyssey, pilgrimage, progress, quest, safari;

hike, slog, tramp, walk;

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.