travel

play

verb trav·el \ˈtra-vəl\

Definition of travel

traveled

travelled

;

traveling

travelling

play \ˈtra-və-liŋ, ˈtrav-liŋ\

intransitive verb
1a : to go on or as if on a trip or tour : journeyb (1) : to go as if by traveling : pass the news traveled fast (2) : associate travels with a sophisticated crowdc : to go from place to place as a sales representative or business agent
2a (1) : to move or undergo transmission from one place to another goods traveling by plane (2) : to withstand relocation successfully a dish that travels wellb : to move in a given direction or path or through a given distance the stylus travels in a groovec : to move rapidly a car that can really travel
3 : to take more steps while holding a basketball than the rules allow
transitive verb
1a : to journey through or overb : 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.

Origin and Etymology of travel

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

First Known Use: 14th century

travel

noun trav·el

Definition of travel

1a : the act of traveling : passageb : 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
4a : movement, progression the travel of satellites around the earthb : 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.

14th Century

First Known Use of travel

14th century

TRAVEL Defined for English Language Learners

travel

play

verb trav·el \ˈtra-vəl\

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 trav·el

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

play

verb trav·el \ˈtra-vəl\

Definition of travel for Students

traveled

travelled

;

traveling

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

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.

travel

play

noun trav·el

Definition of travel for Students

1 : the act or a means of journeying from one place to another Air travel is fast.
2 : ¹journey, trip —often used in pl. I've collected many souvenirs from my travels.
3 : the number journeying There is heavy travel around Thanksgiving.