visit

1 of 2

verb

vis·​it ˈvi-zət 

visited ˈvi-zə-təd 

ˈviz-təd

; visiting ˈvi-zə-tiŋ 

ˈviz-tiŋ

transitive verb

1

a

: to pay a call on as an act of friendship or courtesy

b

: to reside with temporarily as a guest

c

: to go to see or stay at (a place) for a particular purpose (such as business or sightseeing)

d

: to go or come officially to inspect or oversee

a bishop visiting his parishes

2

: to go to see in order to comfort or help

3

a(1)

: afflict

… visited his people with distempers …

—Tobias Smollett

(2)

: inflict, impose

visited his wrath upon them

b

: avenge

visited the sins of the fathers upon the children

c

: to present itself to or come over momentarily

was visited by a strange notion

d

archaic : comfort

—used of the Deity

… visit us with Thy salvation …

—Charles Wesley

intransitive verb

1

: to make a visit

also : to make frequent or regular visits

2

: chat, converse

enjoys visiting with the neighbors

visit

2 of 2

noun

1

a

: a short stay : call

b

: a brief residence as a guest

c

: an extended stay : sojourn

2

: a journey to and stay or short sojourn at a place

3

: an official or professional call or tour : visitation

4

: the act of a naval officer in boarding a merchant ship on the high seas in exercise of the right of search

Synonyms of visit

Verb

• see

Noun

• stay

Examples of visit in a Sentence

Verb

She is visiting her aunt in New York.

When are you coming to visit?

He is visiting a client in Phoenix.

She visits her doctor regularly.

I would like to visit Rome someday.

City officials visited the building site.

Our town was once visited by the President.

Be sure to visit our website.

Noun

We had a visit from the company president.

Our son came home for a visit.

Have you been here before, or is this your first visit?

We had a nice visit after the meeting.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Beijing — When Ho Puay-peng first visited Beijing’s Forbidden City in the late 1980s, the Singaporean architect saw many of the historic courtyards used for storage, filled with garbage, and occupied by danwei (government offices). —Fred He, CNN Money, 6 Nov. 2025

How to Watch Miami Heat vs Denver Nuggets Nikola Jokić scored a season-high 34 points to go with 14 rebounds and four steals as Denver handled the visiting Sacramento Kings 130-124 on Monday night. —Ben Verbrugge, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025

Noun

Since my previous visit, both the festival and the city have always been so welcoming to me. —Leo Barraclough, Variety, 4 Nov. 2025

The interaction between Hillary Galkin-Griffith from Three Hills Winery and Carol Erenyi, visiting for the weekend from Laguna Niguel with her husband, was typical of those whose wine tastings were precursors to future winery visits. —Regina Elling, San Diego Union-Tribune, 4 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English, from Anglo-French visiter, from Latin visitare, frequentative of visere to go to see, frequentative of vidēre to see

First Known Use

Verb

13th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 3d

Noun

1626, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing visit

• conjugal visit
• home visit
• pay a visit to
• pay (someone) a visit
• visit on/upon
• visit with

Rhymes for visit

• visite
• monophysite
• revisit

Kids Definition

visit

1 of 2 verb

vis·​it ˈviz-ət 

visited ˈviz-ət-əd 

ˈviz-təd

; visiting ˈviz-ət-iŋ 

ˈviz-tiŋ

1

: to go to see in order to comfort or help

visit the sick

2

a

: to pay a call upon as an act of friendship or courtesy

b

: to go or come to see on business

c

: to live with for a time as a guest

3

: to go to for pleasure

visit the zoo

4

: to make a visit or frequent or regular visits

5

: chat entry 1 sense 1

enjoys visiting with the neighbors

visit

2 of 2 noun

1

: a brief stay : call

a visit with friends

2

: a stay as a guest

a weekend visit

3

: a journey to and brief stay at a place especially for a particular purpose

a visit to the museum

4

: an official or professional call (as of a doctor to treat a patient)

Etymology

Verb

Middle English visiten "to go to a person especially to give comfort," from early French visiter (same meaning), derived from Latin visere "to go to see," from vidēre "to see" — related to vision

Medical Definition

visit

1 of 2 transitive verb

vis·​it ˈviz-ət 

visited ˈviz-ət-əd, ˈviz-təd  ; visiting ˈviz-ət-iŋ, ˈviz-tiŋ 

1

: to go to attend (a patient)

2

: to go to see (as a physician or dentist) for professional service

visit

2 of 2 noun

1

: a professional call (as by a physician to treat a patient)

2

: a call upon a professional person (as a physician or dentist) for consultation or treatment

make regular visits to your dentist