travel

noun

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

Synonyms of travel

• trip
• journey
• expedition

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 on the Web

The projects are expected to improve about 18 miles of county roads and make travel safer for drivers. —Nicole Buss, Sacbee.com, 10 June 2026

This essay is part of Going Out, a series of stories celebrating LGBTQIA+ travel. —Anton Hur, Condé Nast Traveler, 10 June 2026

At this point, the Essence Essential Oil Nasal Diffusers have earned a spot in my travel pouch alongside lip balm, hand sanitizer, and Advil. —Francesca Krempa, Travel + Leisure, 9 June 2026

Breathable Cotton Cotton clothing, but specifically poplin, has a crispness to it, even after a day of travel, says Coe. —Jacqueline Tempera, PEOPLE, 9 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing travel

• pre-travel
• see/travel the world
• travel agency
• travel agent
• travel bag
• travel light
• travel sickness
• travel trailer

Rhymes for travel

• caval
• cavil
• gavel
• gravel
• unravel

Kids Definition

travel

1 of 2 verb

trav·​el ˈtrav-əl 

traveled or travelled; traveling or travelling -(ə-)liŋ 

1

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

2

: to move or advance from one place to another

the news traveled fast

travel

2 of 2 noun

1

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

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."