travel

1 of 2

verb

trav·​el ˈtra-vəl How to pronounce travel (audio)
traveled or travelled; traveling or travelling ˈtra-və-liŋ How to pronounce travel (audio)
ˈtrav-liŋ

intransitive verb

1
a
: to go on or as if on a trip or tour : journey
b(1)
: to go as if by traveling : pass
the news traveled fast
(2)
: associate
travels with a sophisticated crowd
c
: to go from place to place as a sales representative or business agent
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

transitive verb

1
a
: to journey through or over
b
: 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

2 of 2

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
Phrases
travel light
: to travel with a minimum of equipment or baggage

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
Verb
After meeting in Paris, the lovers begin a long affair, meeting and traveling together in different European cities over a three-year period. Nick Vivarelli, Variety, 25 Mar. 2024 Since 2016, the agency has liberalized its regulations to permit patients to consult a doctor through telemedicine and to obtain the pills without traveling to a clinic. David G. Savage, Los Angeles Times, 25 Mar. 2024 See all Example Sentences for travel 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'travel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

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

First Known Use

Verb

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

Noun

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of travel was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near travel

Cite this Entry

“Travel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/travel. Accessed 29 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

travel

1 of 2 verb
trav·​el ˈtrav-əl How to pronounce travel (audio)
traveled or travelled; traveling or travelling -(ə-)liŋ How to pronounce travel (audio)
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

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."

More from Merriam-Webster on travel

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