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¹travel

verb trav·el \ˈtra-vəl\

: to go on a trip or journey : to go to a place and especially one that is far away

: to go through or over (a place) during a trip or journey

: to move from one place to another

trav·eled or trav·elledtrav·el·ing or trav·el·ling\ˈtra-və-liŋ, ˈtrav-liŋ\

Full Definition of TRAVEL

intransitive verb

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

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>

: to take more steps while holding a basketball than the rules allow

transitive verb

a : to journey through or over

b : to follow (a course or path) as if by traveling

: to traverse (a specified distance)

: to cover (an area) as a commercial traveler

— travel light

: to travel with a minimum of equipment or baggage

See travel defined for English-language learners

See travel defined for kids

Origin of TRAVEL

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

First Known Use: 14th century

Related to TRAVEL

Synonyms: journey, peregrinate, pilgrimage, tour, trek, trip, voyage

Antonyms: crawl, creep, poke

Rhymes with TRAVEL

cavil, gavel, gravel, ravel

²travel

noun

: the act or activity of traveling

travels : trips or journeys to distant places

Full Definition of TRAVEL

a : the act of traveling : passage

b : a journey especially to a distant or unfamiliar place : tour, trip —often used in plural

plural : an account of one's travels

: the number traveling : traffic

a : movement, progression <the travel of satellites around the earth>

b : the motion of a piece of machinery; especially : reciprocating motion

See travel defined for English-language learners

First Known Use of TRAVEL

14th century

Related to TRAVEL

Synonyms: expedition, passage, peregrination, travel(s), trek, trip

Rhymes with TRAVEL

cavil, gavel, gravel, ravel

TRAVELS Defined for Kids

¹travel

verb trav·el \ˈtra-vəl\

trav·eled or trav·elledtrav·el·ing or trav·el·ling

Definition of TRAVEL for Kids

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

: to get around : pass from one place to another <The news traveled fast.>

: to journey through or over <We're traveling the countryside.>

— trav·el·er or trav·el·ler noun

Word History of TRAVEL

For many of us travel is usually for pleasure, so that we are unlikely to associate travel with hard labor or torture. However, the ultimate source of travel is a spoken Latin verb trepaliare, “to torture,” derived from trepalium, a name for an instrument of torture. Trepaliare developed into medieval French travailler, which meant “to torture or torment,” as well as “to suffer or labor.” Middle English borrowed the French verb as travailen with the same sense. But the difficulties of getting from place to place in the Middle Ages, when any journey was an exhausting effort, led medieval speakers of English to apply travailen to making a trip. We still use the word, though travel is now much easier.