trip definition root

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to win a trip to Paris.

Synonyms: junket , jaunt , tour , excursion

It's a short trip from Baltimore to Philadelphia.

• round trip ( defs 1, 2 ) .

his daily trip to the bank.

• a stumble; misstep .
• a sudden impeding or catching of a person's foot so as to throw the person down, especially in wrestling.

Synonyms: oversight , lapse

• an error or lapse in conduct or etiquette.
• a light, nimble step or movement of the feet.
• a projecting object mounted on a moving part for striking a control lever to stop, reverse, or otherwise control the actions of some machine, as a milling machine or printing press.
• a sudden release or start.
• a catch of fish taken by a fishing vessel in a single voyage.
• an instance or period of being under the influence of a hallucinogenic drug, especially LSD.
• the euphoria, illusions, etc., experienced during such a period.

The class reunion was a real trip.

She's been on a nostalgia trip all week.

Those early years in college were a bad trip.

verb (used without object)

to trip over a child's toy.

Synonyms: err , blunder , bungle

• to step lightly or nimbly; skip ; dance .

She tripped gaily across the room.

• to make a journey or excursion.
• to tip or tilt.
• Horology. (of a tooth on an escape wheel) to slide past the face of the pallet by which it is supposed to be locked and strike the pallet in such a way as to move the balance or pendulum improperly.

He tripped out on peyote.

verb (used with object)

The rug tripped him up.

• to cause to fail; hinder, obstruct, or overthrow.

to trip up a witness by skillful questioning.

• to catch in a slip or error.
• to break out (an anchor) by turning over or lifting from the bottom by a line tripping line attached to the anchor's crown.
• to tip or turn (a yard) from a horizontal to a vertical position.
• to lift (an upper mast) before lowering.
• to operate, start, or set free (a mechanism, weight, etc.) by suddenly releasing a catch, clutch, or the like.
• Machinery. to release or operate suddenly (a catch, clutch, etc.).
• wedge ( def 17 ) .
• to tread or dance lightly upon (the ground, floor, etc.).
• Archaic. to perform with a light or tripping step, as a dance.
• a group of animals, as sheep, goats, or fowl; flock .
• an outward and return journey, often for a specific purpose
• any tour, journey, or voyage
• a false step; stumble
• any slip or blunder
• a light step or tread
• a manoeuvre or device to cause someone to trip
• any catch on a mechanism that acts as a switch

trip button

• a surge in the conditions of a chemical or other automatic process resulting in an instability
• informal. a hallucinogenic drug experience
• informal. any stimulating, profound, etc, experience
• often foll byup, or when intr, by on or over to stumble or cause to stumble
• to make or cause to make a mistake or blunder
• troften foll byup to trap or catch in a mistake
• intr to go on a short tour or journey
• intr to move or tread lightly
• informal. intr to experience the effects of LSD or any other hallucinogenic drug
• to activate (a mechanical trip)
• to switch electric power off by moving the switch armature to disconnect the supply

Discover More

Derived forms.

• ˈtrippingly , adverb

Other Words From

• un·tripped adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of trip 1

Origin of trip 2

Idioms and Phrases

Mother's been trying to lay a guilt trip on me about leaving home.

• trip the light fantastic , Facetious. to go dancing.

More idioms and phrases containing trip

Synonym study, example sentences.

The show will also include documenting the winner’s ISS trip, including their launch and 10-day space station stay, as well as their return journey and landing.

They’re waterproof, which makes them good for whitewater trips, too.

Some said, “That’ll be the trip of your life,” while others noted, “That place will change you.”

It’s here that my parents told me to take a trip to the village to search for these answers on my own.

Case would even offer to fly out promising and hard-to-reach startups to have them join the trip.

Finding the shop is a trip in itself and an introduction to a slice of history.

Anthony Goldstein probably chose a trip to the Quidditch World Cup over his Birthright trip to Israel.

After my first trip to his place in Tucson we called one another on the telephone.

“During this trip, I did as a lone wolf, I risked a lot,” he said.

My trip takes the reverse path, and I begin by assessing the depth of my Shakespeare knowledge in his birthplace.

The Comet started on her first trip up the Arkansas, being the first steam boat that ascended that river.

Liszt has returned from his trip, and I have played to him twice this week, and am to go again on Monday.

But Punch was five; and he knew that going to England would be much nicer than a trip to Nassick.

The Italian trip was discussed, and considerable ignorance of geography was, as is usual, manifested by all present.

I knowed, a-course, that I could go kick up a fuss when Simpson stopped by his office on his trip back from Goldstone.

Related Words

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.

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trip noun 1

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What does the noun trip mean?

There are 25 meanings listed in OED's entry for the noun trip , three of which are labelled obsolete. See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

trip has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

Entry status

OED is undergoing a continuous programme of revision to modernize and improve definitions. This entry has not yet been fully revised.

How common is the noun trip ?

How is the noun trip pronounced, british english, u.s. english, where does the noun trip come from.

Earliest known use

Middle English

The earliest known use of the noun trip is in the Middle English period (1150—1500).

OED's earliest evidence for trip is from around 1412–20, in a translation by John Lydgate, poet and prior of Hatfield Regis.

It is also recorded as a verb from the Middle English period (1150—1500).

trip is formed within English, by conversion.

Etymons: trip v.

Nearby entries

• Trionyx, n. 1835–
• trioperculate, adj. 1900–
• triorchis, n. 1650–
• triose, n. 1894–
• triose phosphate, n. 1934–
• trio-sonata, n. 1884–
• triovulate, adj. 1891–
• trioxan, n. 1915–
• trioxide, n. 1868–
• trioxy-, comb. form
• trip, n.¹ 1412–
• trip, n.² 1305–
• trip, n.³ c1386–1849
• trip, n.⁴ 1600
• Trip, n.⁵ 1909–
• trip, v. c1380–
• tripack, n. 1911–
• tripair, n. 1878–
• tripal | trypal, adj. & n. 1709–
• tripaleolate, adj. 1866–
• tripalmitin, n. 1855–

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Meaning & use

Pronunciation, compounds & derived words, entry history for trip, n.¹.

trip, n.¹ was first published in 1915; not yet revised.

trip, n.¹ was last modified in December 2023.

Revision of the OED is a long-term project. Entries in oed.com which have not been revised may include:

• corrections and revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations which have been added in subsequent print and online updates.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into trip, n.¹ in December 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

OED First Edition (1915)

• Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

• View trip, n.¹ in OED Second Edition

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travel (v.)

late 14c., "to journey," from travailen (1300) "to make a journey," originally "to toil, labor" (see travail ). The semantic development may have been via the notion of "go on a difficult journey," but it also may reflect the difficulty of any journey in the Middle Ages. Replaced Old English faran . Related: Traveled ; traveling . Traveled (adj.) "having made journeys, experienced in travel" is from early 15c. Traveling salesman is attested from 1885.

travel (n.)

late 14c., "action of traveling," from travel (v.). Travels "accounts of journeys" is recorded from 1590s. Travel-agent is from 1925.

Entries linking to travel

"labor, toil," mid-13c., from Old French travail "work, labor, toil, suffering or painful effort, trouble; arduous journey" (12c.), from travailler "to toil, labor," originally "to trouble, torture, torment," from Vulgar Latin *tripaliare "to torture," from *tripalium (in Late Latin trepalium ) "instrument of torture," probably from Latin tripalis "having three stakes" (from tria "three;" see three + palus "stake" (from PIE *pakslo- , suffixed form of root *pag- "to fasten"), which sounds ominous, but the exact notion is obscure. The verb is recorded from late 13c. in English, from the verb in Old French.

also traveller , late 14c., agent noun from travel (v.). Traveler's check is from 1891.

• See all related words ( 4 ) >

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Dictionary entries near travel

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Meaning of trip in English

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trip noun ( JOURNEY )

• You should always check your oil , water and tyres before taking your car on a long trip.
• How about a trip to the zoo this afternoon ?
• She's going on a trip to New York, all expenses paid .
• The travel company has written giving information about the trip.
• He's always going off around the world on business trips, leaving his wife to cope with the babies by herself.
• break-journey
• circumnavigation

trip noun ( FALL )

• collapse under someone's/something's weight
• collapse/fall in a heap idiom
• drop like flies idiom
• knock someone over
• let go idiom
• overbalance
• parachutist
• trip (someone) up

trip noun ( EXPERIENCE )

• abstinence-only
• non-intoxicant
• non-intoxicating
• pill-popping
• solvent abuse
• substance abuse

trip verb ( LOSE BALANCE )

• fall She slipped and fell.
• drop Several apples dropped from the tree.
• collapse Several buildings collapsed in the earthquake.
• crumple He fainted and crumpled into a heap on the floor.
• tumble A huge rock tumbled down the mountain.
• plunge Four of the mountaineers plunged to their deaths when their ropes broke.
• The bowler tripped as he was delivering the ball .
• She tripped and fell over.
• I tripped as I got off the bus .
• She tripped over the rug .
• I tripped on a piece of wire that someone had stretched across the path .

trip verb ( MOVE )

• bowl down/along something
• make good time idiom
• make haste idiom

trip verb ( SWITCH )

• anti-static
• capacitance
• electricity
• high-voltage
• non-electric
• non-electrical
• non-electronic
• solid-state
• transistorized

trip verb ( EXPERIENCE )

Phrasal verb, trip | american dictionary, trip noun [c] ( travel ), trip noun [c] ( experience ), trip verb [i/t] ( lose balance ), trip | business english, examples of trip, collocations with trip.

These are words often used in combination with trip .

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Translations of trip

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Word of the Day

to fasten the belt that keeps you in your seat in a car or a plane

Searching out and tracking down: talking about finding or discovering things

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• trip (JOURNEY)
• trip (FALL)
• trip (EXPERIENCE)
• guilt/power/ego trip
• trip (LOSE BALANCE)
• trip (MOVE)
• trip (SWITCH)
• trip (TRAVEL)
• Business    Noun
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Definition of 'trip'

TRIP in American English

Trip in american english, trip in american english 1, trip in american english 2, trip in british english, examples of 'trip' in a sentence trip, related word partners trip, trends of trip.

View usage over: Since Exist Last 10 years Last 50 years Last 100 years Last 300 years

Browse alphabetically trip

• trioxoboric acid
• trioxoboric(III) acid
• trip a switch
• trip computer
• All ENGLISH words that begin with 'T'

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Definition of trip verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

• She tripped and fell.
• trip over/on something Someone will trip over that cable.
• I tripped over my own feet and fell down the stairs.
• (figurative) I was tripping over my words in my excitement to tell them the news.
• (figurative) Lawyers were tripping over each other (= competing with each other in a hurried way) to get a piece of the action.
• trip over/up Be careful you don't trip up on the step.
• She tripped on the loose stones.
• One of the boys tripped over and crashed into a tree.
• accidentally
• trip and fall

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Dictionary Entries Near journey

journal voucher

journey-bated

Cite this Entry

“Journey.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/journey. Accessed 20 May. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of journey.

Kids Definition of journey  (Entry 2 of 2)

Middle English journey "a trip, travel," from early French journee "day's work, day's journey," from jour "day," derived from Latin diurnus "of a day, daily," from dies "day" — related to diary , journal

More from Merriam-Webster on journey

Nglish: Translation of journey for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of journey for Arabic Speakers

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