visit

play

verb vis·it \ ˈvi-zət \

Definition of visit

visited play \ˈvi-zə-təd, ˈviz-təd\; visiting play \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

See visit defined for English-language learners

See visit defined for kids

Examples of visit in a Sentence

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 Web site.

Recent Examples of visit from the Web

Within minutes of the Instagram post, Gigi's page was flooded with negative comments that encouraged her to not visit the country.

— devon ivie, Teen Vogue, "Gigi Hadid Is Getting Pushback from Some Chinese People Over Her VS Fashion Show Appearance," 30 Aug. 2017
President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump visited Texas to survey the damage from Harvey on Tuesday afternoon.

— margaret hartmann, Daily Intelligencer, "Floodwater Still Rising as Harvey Makes Second Landfall in Louisiana," 30 Aug. 2017
Now, Jon and Linda visit their son at Cave Hill Cemetery twice a week, sometimes more.

— beth warren, The Courier-Journal, "The mother of a Louisville overdose victim fights the 'heroin wars' in her own way," 29 Aug. 2017
Email her at avecianasuarez@gmail.com or visit her website anavecianasuarez.com.

— ana veciana-suarez, miamiherald, "Mark Zuckerberg can take paid leave when his child is born, but most fathers can’t," 29 Aug. 2017
In the years since Rossi visited that Italian clinic, TMS has attracted interest among a small cadre of researchers and physicians who are using it to target cocaine addiction, even as skeptics raise their eyebrows.

— meredith wadman, Science | AAAS, "Brain-altering magnetic pulses could zap cocaine addiction," 29 Aug. 2017
Responsible for the Alleghany and Washington Counties, Johnson had the job of visiting any property in his territory with a still and collecting the levies in cash.

— carrie hagen, Smithsonian, "The First Presidential Pardon Pitted Alexander Hamilton Against George Washington," 29 Aug. 2017
For updates on Tuesday’s event and the raffle, visit Cane Rosso on Facebook.

— robert philpot, star-telegram, "Eat Cane Rosso pizza and contribute to Harvey relief," 28 Aug. 2017
For more information on colon cancer, including symptoms and screening resources, visit Colon Cancer Alliance’s website.

— Southern Living, "Alabama Man Celebrates 10th Anniversary of His Cancer Diagnosis with Giant Party," 28 Aug. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'visit.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of visit

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

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 13th century

See Words from the same year

visit Synonyms

Synonyms

call (on or upon), drop in (on), see

Antonyms

avoid, shun

Related Words

look up, seek (out); drop by

Near Antonyms

brush (aside or off), cold-shoulder, ignore, snub

visit

noun

Definition of visit

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

See visit defined for English-language learners

Examples of visit in a Sentence

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 of visit from the Web

To sign up visit: http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10c0d48a4a72aa1f85-recyclepalooza.

— susan demar lafferty, Daily Southtown, "Recyclepalooza event Sept. 9 in New Lenox," 30 Aug. 2017
His visit to heaven bore several similarities to Handsome Lake’s Sky Journey, which had occurred only a few years earlier.

— Longreads, "America’s First Addiction Epidemic," 29 Aug. 2017
For more information, visit www.bluemanateebooks.com.

— jeanne houck, Cincinnati.com, "Acclaimed children's book author coming to Oakley," 29 Aug. 2017
Visit stellashows.com to purchase tickets in advance.

— courtney campbell, Country Living, "Take a Peek Inside This Adorable Tiny House That's Just 100 Square Feet," 24 Aug. 2017
In new book, Hillary Clinton reflects on the 2016 campaign Visit msnbc.com for Morning Joe Follow Marie Claire on Facebook for the latest celeb news, beauty tips, fascinating reads, livestream video, and more.

— megan friedman, Marie Claire, "Hillary Clinton Gets Candid About What It Was Like to Debate Donald Trump," 23 Aug. 2017
The visit to Arlington National Cemetery was part of a trip to Washington, D.C., taken by the Ravens.

— mark inabinett, AL.com, "Watch Baltimore Ravens safety from West Alabama lay wreath at Tomb of the Unknown Soldier," 22 Aug. 2017
Ben Carson Jr. resurfaced at the second day’s other open event, a visit to a health fair in East Baltimore.

— alec macgillis, Daily Intelligencer, "Is Anybody Home at HUD?," 22 Aug. 2017
The CAR Group had more than $1 billion in sales last year, including 45,000 new and used vehicles and more than 210,000 repair and maintenance visits.

— teri figueroa, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Vista to rip out island median to make room for Honda franchise," 21 Aug. 2017

First Known Use of visit

1621

visit Synonyms

Synonyms

sojourn, stay, tarry

Related Words

field trip, homestay, sleepover; layover, stop, stopover

VISIT Defined for English Language Learners

visit

play

verb

Definition of visit for English Language Learners

: to go somewhere to spend time with (someone, such as a friend or relative)
: to go somewhere to see and talk to (someone) in an official way or as part of your job
: to go to see (a doctor, dentist, etc.)

visit

noun

Definition of visit for English Language Learners

: an occasion when someone goes to a place to see and talk to someone for usually a brief time
: an occasion when someone goes to a place for pleasure, as part of a job, to do something, etc.
: an occasion when you are staying in a hotel, motel, etc.

VISIT Defined for Kids

visit

play

verb vis·it \ ˈvi-zət \

Definition of visit for Students

visited; visiting

1 :to go to see for a particular purpose

visit a friend

visit a doctor

visit the zoo

2 :to stay with for a time as a guest

I am visiting with relatives.

3 :to come to or upon

We were visited by many troubles.

Word Root of visit

The Latin word vidēre, meaning “to see”, and its form vīsis give us the roots vid and vis. Words from the Latin vidēre have something to do with seeing. Anything visible is able to be seen. Something evident is able to be seen, sensed, or understood. The video part of a television is the part that is seen, as opposed to the part that is heard. Vision is the ability to see. To visit is to go somewhere to see someone.

visit

noun

Definition of visit for Students

1 :an act of going to see a person, place, or thing for a particular purpose

a visit with friends

our visit to the museum

2 :a stay as a guest

a weekend visit with relatives

—

visitor

\ˈvi-zə-tər\ noun

Medical Dictionary

visit

play

transitive verb vis·it \ ˈviz-ət \

medical Definition of visit

visited play \ˈviz-ət-əd, ˈviz-təd\; visiting play \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

noun

medical Definition of visit

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

Learn More about visit

Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for visit Spanish Central: Translation of visit Nglish: Translation of visit for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of visit for Arabic speakers

Seen and Heard

What made you want to look up visit? Please tell us where you read or heard it (including the quote, if possible).

show

visit

Definition of visit

Explore M-W

Examples of visit in a Sentence

Recent Examples of visit from the Web

Origin and Etymology of visit

visit Synonyms

Synonyms

Antonyms

Related Words

Near Antonyms

visit

Definition of visit

Examples of visit in a Sentence

Recent Examples of visit from the Web

First Known Use of visit

visit Synonyms

Synonyms

Related Words

Phrases Related to VISIT

Related Phrases

VISIT Defined for English Language Learners

visit

Definition of visit for English Language Learners

visit

Definition of visit for English Language Learners

VISIT Defined for Kids

visit

Definition of visit for Students

Word Root of visit

visit

Definition of visit for Students

visitor

Medical Dictionary

visit

medical Definition of visit

visit

medical Definition of visit

Learn More about visit

Seen and Heard

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Love words? Need even more definitions?

Words at Play

Ask the Editors

Word Games

'Meat Sweats': The Cookout's Worst Nightmare

Trending: Kim Jong Un: Trump a 'Dotard'

These Are Fighting Words

Merriam-Webster's New Words Quiz—Fall 2017 Edition!

Words of the Year: 1066