traveled or travelled; traveling or travelling
ˈtra-və-liŋ 
ˈtrav-liŋ
1
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
1
2
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
Examples of travel in a Sentence
Verb
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.
Noun
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 on the Web
Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 28 June 2025
Portnoy recalls traveling with her husband to four different medical institutions after a year of misdiagnosis.
—Alexis Kayser, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 June 2025
Lydia Mansel, Southern Living, 29 June 2025
Yet between travel, laundry, errands, kids’ games and headlines that spark concern, the day can potentially feel less like a recharge and more like another kind of work.
—Dilan Gomih, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for travel
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
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Verb
Located within the downtown area, anchor your stay by parking your car (free of charge) and traveling on foot to explore shops, the farmers market, and restaurants.
—Jennifer Prince, Southern Living, 28 June 2025
Portnoy recalls traveling with her husband to four different medical institutions after a year of misdiagnosis.
—Alexis Kayser, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 June 2025
Noun
Where to Stay There are only a few still-operating sites in North Carolina that were featured in the Green Book—a travel guide for Black travelers during the Jim Crow era—and The Historic Magnolia House is one of them.
—Lydia Mansel, Southern Living, 29 June 2025
Yet between travel, laundry, errands, kids’ games and headlines that spark concern, the day can potentially feel less like a recharge and more like another kind of work.
—Dilan Gomih, Forbes.com, 29 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for travel
Cite this Entry
“Travel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travel. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
travel
2 of 2 noun1
a
: the act or means of traveling
air travel is fast
b
: journey entry 1, trip
—often used in plural
2
plural
: an account of one's travels
Etymology
Verb
Middle English travailen "torment, labor, strive, journey," from early French travailler "torment, labor," from an unrecorded Latin verb tripaliare "to torture," from Latin tripalium "an instrument of torture," literally "three stakes," derived from tri- "three" and palus "stake, pale" — related to pale entry 3, travail
Word Origin
With our modern cars, ships, and airplanes and our many restaurants and hotels, travel today is not difficult. But in the Middle Ages roads were poor and places to eat and sleep were far apart. Travel was hard, uncomfortable work—even torture. In fact, our word travel comes from a Latin word that meant "torture." Many devices were used in the Middle Ages for torture in an effort to force confessions from persons accused of crimes. One of these devices, called in Latin a tripalium, gave us our word travel. The word tripalium, literally "three stakes," was derived from Latin tri-, meaning "three" and palus, meaning "stake, pale." This word is thought to have been the source of the Latin verb tripaliare, meaning "to torture." In early French the word became travailler, with both the meaning "to torment" and the meaning "to work hard." This early French word was taken into Middle English as travailen, with the meaning "to work hard" and "to travel." In time these two meanings became separated into different words, travail, which means "hard work," and travel, which means "to go on a trip."
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