travel

which word?
Journey, trip or travel? You say journey to talk about going from one particular place to another. A journey can be long: the journey across Canada or short: the journey to work. You often use trip when you are thinking about the whole visit, including your stay in a place: We're just back from a trip to Japan. We had a wonderful time. A trip can be short: a school trip • a shopping trip. You say travel to talk about the general activity of moving from place to place: Foreign travel is very popular these days. Travel has no plural, so you cannot say 'go on a travel'. You go on a journey or a trip.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English

travel

I. trav‧el¹ S2 W2 /ˈtrævəl/ BrE AmE verb (past tense and past participle travelled, present participle travelling British English, traveled, traveling American English)
[Date: 1300-1400; Language: Old French; Origin: travaillier; ⇨ ↑travail]
1. JOURNEY
a) [intransitive] to go from one place to another, or to several places, especially ones that are far away:
Someday I’d like to travel abroad.
travel to/across/through/around etc
We’re planning to travel across America this summer.
travel widely/extensively
He has travelled extensively in China.
travel by train/car/air etc
We travelled by train across Eastern Europe.
He’d travelled far, but he’d travelled light (=without taking many possessions).
b) travel the world/country to go to most parts of the world or of a particular country
2. DISTANCE [intransitive and transitive] to go a particular distance or at a particular speed
travel at
The train was travelling at 100 mph.
They travelled 200 miles on the first day.
3. well-travelled
a) (also widely-travelled) having travelled to many different countries:
a well-travelled businesswoman
b) having been travelled on by many people:
a well-travelled road
4. NEWS [intransitive] to be passed quickly from one person or place to another:
News travels fast.
5. travel well to remain in good condition or be equally successful when taken to another country:
Exporters have to find wines that travel well.
Many British television programmes don’t travel well.
6. EYES [intransitive always + adverb/preposition] written if your eyes travel over something, you look at different parts of it:
His gaze travelled over her face.
7. LIGHT/SOUND [intransitive] to move at a particular speed or in a particular direction:
Light travels faster than sound.
8. SPORT [intransitive] to take more than three steps while you are holding the ball in ↑basketball
• • •
COLLOCATIONS
■ adverbs
▪ travel abroad Only the affluent could afford to take vacations or to travel abroad.
▪ travel widely/extensively He travelled extensively in Europe studying geology.
▪ travel light (=not take many things with you) The idea was to travel light, so Travis allowed her to pack only one change of clothing.
■ phrases
▪ travel by train/car/air etc Emily hated travelling by train.
▪ travel the world/country They travelled the world together.
• • •
THESAURUS
■ to travel
▪ travel to go from one place to another, especially places that are far apart: We travelled to Russia by train. | I love to travel.
▪ go to go somewhere – often used instead of travel: We’re going to Greece for our holidays this year. | He’s gone to London on business. | It’s quicker to go by plane.
▪ commute to travel to work or school: She commutes to work by bicycle.
▪ cross to travel across a very large area, for example a desert or ocean: The slaves crossed the Atlantic in the holds of the ships.
▪ tour to travel in order to visit many different places, especially as part of a holiday: They’re touring Europe by coach.
▪ go trekking to do a long and difficult walk in a place far from towns and cities: They went trekking in the mountains. | She’s been trekking in Nepal a couple of times.
▪ go backpacking to travel to a lot of different places, carrying your clothes with you in your ↑rucksack: He went backpacking in Australia.
▪ roam especially written to travel or move around an area with no clear purpose or direction, usually for a long time: When he was young, he roamed from one country to another. | The tribes used to roam around freely, without any fixed territory.
▪ journey literary to travel, especially a long distance: He journeyed on horseback through Palestine.
■ people who travel
▪ traveller British English, traveler American English someone who is travelling a long distance: Weary travellers waited at the airport. | My aunt was a great traveller. (=she travelled a lot).
▪ tourist someone who is travelling somewhere for a holiday: During the summer, over a million tourists visit the island each year.
▪ passenger someone who is travelling in a vehicle, plane, ship etc but not driving it or working on it: The driver and two passengers were killed in the crash.
▪ commuter someone who travels to work every day: commuters on the train to London
▪ backpacker someone who travels to a lot of different places, carrying their clothes etc in a ↑rucksack: The hostels are great for backpackers.
▪ explorer someone who travels to places that people have not visited before: Potatoes were brought to England by explorers such as Sir Francis Drake and Sir Walter Raleigh.

Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

travel

travel [travel travels travelled traveled travelling traveling] verb, noun [ˈtrævl] [ˈtrævl]

verb (-ll-, especially US -l-)
1. intransitive, transitive to go from one place to another, especially over a long distance
• to travel around the world
• I go to bed early if I'm travelling the next day.
• I love travelling by train.
• We always travel first class.
• We travelled to California for the wedding.
• When I finished college I went travelling for six months (= spent time visiting different places).
• ~ sth He travelled the length of the Nile in a canoe.

• I travel 40 miles to work every day.

2. intransitive (+ adv./prep.) to go or move at a particular speed, in a particular direction, or a particular distance
• to travel at 50 miles an hour
• Messages travel along the spine from the nerve endings to the brain.

• News travels fast these days.

3. intransitive (of food, wine, an object, etc.) to be still in good condition after a long journey

• Some wines do not travel well.

4. intransitive (+ adv./prep.) (of a book, an idea, etc.) to be equally successful in another place and not just where it began

• Some writing travels badly in translation.

5. intransitive to go fast

• Their car can really travel!

6. intransitive (in basketball) to move while you are holding the ball, in a way that is not allowed
Verb forms:

Word Origin:
Middle English: a variant of travail, and originally in the same sense.
Example Bank:
• He travels back and forth across the Atlantic.
• He travels with a huge entourage.
• Hundreds of hospital patients may have to travel long distances for treatment.
• I always travel first class.
• I prefer to travel independently.
• I prefer travelling independently to going on a package holiday.
• In the film, he travels back in time to the '50s.
• She travels light, choosing to use as little equipment as possible.
• She travels widely in her job.
• The dissidents were unable to hold meetings or travel freely.
• The job gives her the opportunity to travel abroad.
• We decided to travel by car.
• We had to travel separately as we couldn't get seats on the same flight.
• We plan to travel through Thailand and into Cambodia.
• We travelled through France and into Germany.
• When I finished college I went travelling for six months.
• When I finished college I went travelling/traveling for six months= spent time visiting different places.
• a writer who travels far and wide
• business people who travel regularly to the US
• for the holidaymaker who wants to travel further afield
• information for the backpacker who wants to travel farther afield
• to travel at the speed of light
• Al travels over 50 km to work every day.
• Children under five travel free.
• He went travelling for six months.
• Here are some tips on how to keep healthy while you're travelling.
• I spent a year travelling around Africa.
• Is it possible for anything to travel faster than the speed of light?
• Messages travel from the nerve endings to the brain.
• More people travel by air than ever before.
• She travelled the length of the Mekong in a canoe.
• The truck was travelling at 90 mph when it veered off the road.
• They seem to be travelling north.
• We travelled the length and breadth of the country.
• We've travelled a long way in the past few days.

Idiom: travel light

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary

Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary - 4th Edition

travel / ˈtræv. ə l / verb ( -ll- or US usually -l- )

A1 [ I or T ] to make a journey, usually over a long distance:

After leaving school, she spent a year travelling, mostly in Africa and Asia.

I travel to work by train.

He travelled over 1,000 miles to be at the wedding.

As a young man he had travelled (= been to many parts of) the world .

B1 [ I ] to move or go from one place to another:

Supersonic planes can travel faster than the speed of sound.

[ I ] If something such as food travels well/badly, it does/does not stay in good condition if it is moved long distances:

They say that real Yorkshire beers don't travel well.

really travel informal to move very fast:

We were doing 90 mph, so the car that passed us must have been really travelling!

That bike can really travel!

travel light to make a journey without taking a lot of heavy things with you:

I always try to travel light.

Collins Advanced Learner’s English Dictionary

travel

[træ̱v(ə)l]
♦♦
travels, travelling, travelled
(in AM, use traveling, traveled)
1) VERB If you travel, you go from one place to another, often to a place that is far away.
  [V prep/adv] You had better travel to Helsinki tomorrow...
  [V prep/adv] Granny travelled down by train...
  I've been traveling all day...
  [V amount/n] Students often travel hundreds of miles to get here...
  [V at amount] I had been travelling at 150 kilometres an hour...
  [V-ing] He was a charming travelling companion.
  Derived words:
  travelling N-UNCOUNT I love travelling... Getting to and from school involves two hours' travelling a day.
2) N-UNCOUNT Travel is the activity of travelling.
  Information on travel in New Zealand is available at the hotel...
  He detested air travel.
  ...a writer of travel books.
3) VERB If you travel the world, the country, or the area, you go to many different places in the world or in a particular country or area.
  [V n] Dr Ryan travelled the world gathering material for his book...
  [V n] He has had to travel the country in search of work.
4) VERB When light or sound from one place reaches another, you say that it travels to the other place.
  [V prep/adv] When sound travels through water, strange things can happen...
  [V at amount] Light travels at around 300,000,000 metres per second.
5) VERB When news becomes known by people in different places, you can say that it travels to them.
  [V adv/prep] News of his work traveled all the way to Asia...
  [V adv/prep] Seems like news travels pretty fast around here.
6) N-PLURAL: with poss, usu poss N Someone's travels are the journeys that they make to places a long way from their home.
  He also collects things for the house on his travels abroad.
7) → See also travelling, much-travelled, well-travelled
8) PHRASE: V inflects If you travel light, you travel without taking much luggage.
9) PHRASE: V inflects If goods such as food products travel well, they can be transported a long way without being damaged or their quality being spoiled.
  Ripe fruit does not travel well, but unripe fruit can be transported worldwide.
10) PHRASE: V inflects If you say that an idea, a method, or a style travels well, you mean that it can be appreciated or used by people in several different countries, and not just in the country where it began.
  That brand of humour generally travels well.

Merriam-Webster's Advanced Learner's Dictionary

¹trav·el /ˈtrævəl/ verb -els; US -eled or Brit -elled; US -el·ing or Brit -el·ling
1 a [no obj] : to go on a trip or journey : to go to a place and especially one that is far away
• The birds are traveling south for the winter.
• His job requires him to travel frequently.
• She enjoys traveling around Europe.
• traveling by bus/car/plane/train
• They traveled cross-country from New York to California.
• I prefer to travel light. [=to travel with very little baggage]
- often used figuratively
• My mind traveled back to my childhood. [=I began thinking about my childhood]
b [+ obj] : to go through or over (a place) during a trip or journey
• They traveled the countryside.
2 [no obj]
a : to move from one place to another
• The car was traveling at a very high (rate of) speed.
• The pain traveled down his back.
• the way that sound travels in an empty room
• Her eyes traveled around the room. [=she looked around the room]
b informal : to go fast
• That car was really traveling when it passed us.
3 [no obj] : to be brought from one place to another
• The order/shipment is traveling by plane.
• a dish that travels well [=that is easily moved and does not break, make messes, etc.]
4 [no obj] : to spread or be passed from one place or person to another
• The news of his death traveled fast.
5 [no obj] : to spend time with a particular group or kind of people
• She travels in conservative political circles.
• He traveled with a sophisticated crowd.
6 [no obj] basketball : to take more steps while holding a basketball than the rules allow
• I saw him travel.
• The referee called her for traveling.