Word.ws English Dictionary

trip

/tɹɪp/

More pronunciations (1)Fewer pronunciations

New Zealand/tɹəp/

trip noun: a journey; an excursion or jaunt.

Noun (1)

trip (plural trips)

  1. A journey; an excursion or jaunt.
    • beach trip, camping trip, fishing trip, school trip, shopping trip
    • We make annual trips to the museum.
    1. A short outing for a specified purpose.
      • He went on a trip to the drug store.
    2. (colloquial) A period of time in which one experiences drug-induced reverie or hallucinations.
      • He had a strange trip after taking LSD.
      • Unlike other accepted stimuli, from nicotine to liquor, the hallucinogens promise those who take the “trip” a magic-carpet escape from dull reality in which perceptions are heightened, sense distorted, and the imagination permanently bedazzled with ecstatic visions of teleological verity.1967, Joe David Brown, editor, The Hippies, New York: Time, Inc, page 2
  2. An unusual or remarkable experience.
    • I had a weird experience, it was quite the trip.
    • Many of them admit to having suppressed any tendency toward homosexual behavior for the greater part of their lives—yet—denial becomes too heavy a trip after a period of time, and eventually curiosity wins out.1974 April 13, Heather Anderson, “Hustling”, in Gay Community News, page 2
    1. (broadly) Intense involvement in or enjoyment of a condition.
      • ego trip
      • power trip
    2. A lifestyle; a preoccupation.
      • His whole celebrity trip made it hard to relate to him.
      • He's on a health-food trip.
  3. A stumble or misstep.
    • He was injured due to a trip down the stairs.
    1. The act of tripping someone, or causing them to lose their footing; a wrestling move in which an opponent is tripped.
      • It is the sudden trip in wrestling that fetches a man to the ground.1661 December 10, Robert South, False Foundations Removed […]
      • And watches with a trip his foe to foil.1697, Virgil, “Georgic II”, in John Dryden, transl., The Works of Virgil: Containing His Pastorals, Georgics, and Æneis. […], London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC
    2. A faux pas, a social error.
    3. (archaic, figuratively) An error; a failure; a mistake.
      • Imperfect words, with childish trips.1671, John Milton, “(please specify the page)”, in Paradise Regain’d. A Poem. In IV Books. To which is Added, Samson Agonistes, London: […] J[ohn] M[acock] for John Starkey […], →OCLC
      • Each seeming trip, and each digressive start.1767, Walter Harte, The amaranth; or, Religious poems
  4. A trip-switch; a cut-out.
    • It's dark because the trip operated.
    1. The action of activating or deactivating a switch or trigger.
      • His trip of the switch activated the mechanism.
  5. (collective) A group of animals, most traditionally goats and hares.
    • It's not something you see every day: Virginia State Police (VSP) found themselves dealing with "baaaa-d" behavior with a trip of goats on the side of Interstate 64 in Chesapeake.2024 May 15, Preston Steger, “Goats on I-64 in Chesapeake rescued by state police, animal control”, in 13 News Now
    • When humans have a problem, we usually take the necessary steps: we call a guy, who calls another guy, who knows another guy who can come fix it, right? Merely something along those lines...but what if we told you that guy was actually two dozen goats? Cue the trip of goats!... 5 of the 24 in the...2021 July 23, Makenzie LaPorte, “Invasive Plant Problem? Bring in the Goats”, in Discovery
  6. A quick, light step; a lively movement of the feet; a skip.
    • His heart bounded as he sometimes could distinctly hear the trip of a light female step glide to or from the door.1814 July 7, [Walter Scott], Waverley; or, ’Tis Sixty Years Since. […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), Edinburgh: […] James Ballantyne and Co. for Archibald Constable and Co.; London...
  7. A single tack while beating (sailing to windward).

Verb

trip (third-person singular simple present trips, present participle tripping, simple past and past participle tripped)

  1. (intransitive) To fall over or stumble over an object as a result of striking it with one's foot
    • Be careful not to trip on those tree roots. You tripped over the cat and fell downstairs just last week.
    • Tripping over a fallen limb, I fall flat on my face, confirming that tropical soils have all the organic cushion of macadam.1990 August, Boyd Gibbons, “Missouri's Garden of Consequence”, in National Geographic, volume 178, number 2, page 130
  2. (sometimes, transitive) To cause (a person or animal) to fall or stumble by knocking their feet from under them.
    • A pedestrian was able to trip the burglar as he was running away.
    • Early in his boyhood he had learned to form ropes by twisting and tying long grasses together, and with these he was forever tripping Tublat or attempting to hang him from some overhanging branch.1912 October, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “Tarzan of the Apes”, in The All-Story, New York, N.Y.: Frank A. Munsey Co., →OCLC; republished as chapter 5, in Tarzan of the Apes, New York, N.Y.: A[lbert]...
  3. (intransitive) To be guilty of a misstep or mistake; to commit an offence against morality, propriety, etc
    • And the Pharasay / Then durst nothynge say, / But let the matter slyp, / And made truth to tryp;c. 1503–1512, John Skelton, Ware the Hauke; republished in John Scattergood, editor, John Skelton: The Complete English Poems, 1983, →OCLC, page 66, lines 152–155
    • [T]ill his Tongue trips1689 (indicated as 1690), [John Locke], “Remedies of the Imperfection and Abuse of Words”, in An Essay Concerning Humane Understanding. […], London: […] Eliz[abeth] Holt, for Thomas Basset, […]...
  4. (obsolete, transitive) To detect in a misstep; to catch; to convict.
    • These her women can trip me if I err.1611 April (first recorded performance), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Cymbeline”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard...
  5. (transitive) To activate or set in motion, as in the activation of a trap, explosive, or switch.
    • When we get into the factory, trip the lights.
  6. (intransitive) To be activated, as by a signal or an event
    • The alarm system tripped, throwing everyone into a panic.
  7. Of an electrical circuit, to trip out (through overload, a short circuit).
    • From the evidence of witnesses and of the recorded passing times, including the time at which the circuit breakers were tripped when the wires were brought down, the train was travelling at a speed of not less than 70 m.p.h.1961 November, “Talking of Trains: Derailment near Holmes Chapel”, in Trains Illustrated, page 652
    • The 25kV had repeatedly tripped and the two had split from a larger group to operate an overhead line isolating switch.2023 August 23, “Network News: CCTV helps save track workers from being struck by train”, in RAIL, number 990, page 10
  8. (intransitive) To experience a state of reverie or to hallucinate, due to consuming psychoactive drugs.
    • After taking the LSD, I started tripping about fairies and colors.
    • So, I went to the doctor, see what he could give me / He said, "Son, son, you've gone too far / 'Cause smokin' and trippin’ is all that you do," / Yeeeeeeaaaaaah1970, Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne, “Fairies Wear Boots”, in Paranoid, performed by Black Sabbath
  9. (intransitive) To journey, to make a trip.
    • Last summer, we tripped to the coast.
  10. (dated, intransitive) To move with light, quick steps; to walk or move lightly; to skip.
    • Come, and trip it, as ye go, / On the light fantastic toe.a. 1645, John Milton, “L’Allegro”, in Poems of Mr. John Milton, […], London: […] Ruth Raworth for Humphrey Mosely, […], published 1646, →OCLC
    • She bounded by, and tripped so light / They had not time to take a steady sight.1687, [John Dryden], “(please specify the page number)”, in The Hind and the Panther. A Poem, in Three Parts, 2nd edition, London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC
  11. To raise (an anchor) from the sea bottom, by its cable or buoy rope, so that it hangs free.
  12. To pull (a yard) into a perpendicular position for lowering it.
  13. (slang, African-American Vernacular, most commonly used in the form tripping) To become unreasonably upset, especially over something unimportant; to cause a scene or a disruption.
    • If she ain't with it, I find another little chick / I'm quick to switch, even when I was six / I had a backup bitch, when my bitch would trip / I'd go play with my other girlfriend and get me a kiss / And at the age of thirty-six I'm to the same old tricks2003, “What's a Pimp?”, in Married to the Game, performed by Too $hort
    1. (slang, African-American Vernacular, most commonly used in the form tripping) To act foolishly or irrationally.

Adjective

trip (not comparable)

  1. (slang) Of or relating to trips (three of a kind).

Noun (2)

trip (plural trips)

  1. (Scotland, UK, dialectal, obsolete) A herd or flock of sheep, goats, etc.
  2. (obsolete) A troop of men; a host.
  3. A flock of wigeons.

trip meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

trip in Hindi

journey
यात्रा yātrā, सैर sair, सफ़र safar, सियाहत siyāhat

trip in Tamil

பயணம், தடுமாறு, தடுக்கி விழுதல்

trip in Marathi

journey
सहल sahal

trip in Urdu

journey
سَفَر safar, سِیاحَت siyāhat
More languagesFewer languages
trip in Bengali
যাত্রা jatra, ট্রিপ্ ṭrip
trip in Malayalam
വീഴാൻപോകുക, കാലിടറി വീഴുക, തള്ളിയിടുക
trip in Kannada
ಹೋಕೆ, ವಿಹಾರ, ಸಂತೋಷ, ಪ್ರಯಾಣ
trip in Punjabi
گیڑا geṛā
trip in Gujarati
પ્રવાસ pravās, સફર saphar
trip in Sanskrit
प्रवास pravāsa
trip in Pashto
سفر safár, سياحت sayāhát
trip in Arabic
رِحْلَة riḥla, سَفَر safar, سِيَاحَة siyāḥa, جَوْلَة jawla
trip in Malay
perjalanan
trip in Indonesian
perjalanan
trip in Thai
การเดินทาง gaan-dəən-taang, เดินทาง dəən-taang, เที่ยว tîao, สะดุด sà-dùt
trip in Vietnamese
chuyến
trip in Myanmar
ခရီး hka.ri:

Examples of trip in a sentence

  • I took a weekend trip to Seville.
  • They have been on a trip since last month.
  • I sold my horse and took a trip to Ceylon and back on an Orient boat as a passenger,1918, Ralph Henry Barbour, Lost Island:
  • He could not be induced to remain permanently at Mohair because Miss Trevor was at Asquith, but he appropriated a Hempstead cart from the Mohair stables and made the trip sometimes twice in a day.1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter V, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company...
  • We don't smoke marijuana in Muskogee / We don't take our trips on LSD1969, Merle Haggard, “Okie from Muskogee”:
  • Cue the trip of goats!... 5 of the 24 in the trip will remain here to stay for the rest of the summer to manage the plants’ growth.2021 July 23, Makenzie LaPorte, “Invasive Plant Problem? Bring in the Goats”, in Discovery:

All 40 example sentences with trip

Synonyms of trip

27 more synonymsFewer synonyms

All synonyms of trip

Forms of trip

Noun
pluraltrips
Verb
third-person singular presenttrips
present participletripping
past participletripped
pasttripped

Past tense of trip: tripped

Plural of trip: trips

Origin of trip

From Middle English trippen (“tread or step lightly and nimbly, skip, dance”), perhaps from Old French triper (“to hop or dance around, strike with the feet”), from a Frankish source; or alternatively from Middle Dutch trippen (“to skip, trip, hop, stamp, trample”) (> Modern Dutch trippelen (“to toddle, patter, trip”)). Akin to Middle Low German trippen ( > Danish trippe (“to trip”), Swedish trippa (“to mince, trip”)), West Frisian tripje (“to toddle, trip”), German trippeln (“to scurry”), Old English treppan (“to trample, tread”). Related also to trap, tramp.

From Middle English tryppe, from Old French trippe. Possibly related to troop.

Words formed from trip

Phrases with trip

31 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with trip

39 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about trip

What does trip mean?
Trip means a journey; an excursion or jaunt.
What is trip in Hindi?
Trip in Hindi is यात्रा (yātrā), सैर (sair), सफ़र (safar). See Trip meaning in Hindi.
How do you use trip in a sentence?
I took a weekend trip to Seville.
What part of speech is trip?
Trip can be a noun, a verb or an adjective.
How do you pronounce trip?
Trip is pronounced /tɹɪp/ (UK).
What is the plural of trip?
The plural of trip is trips.

Words near trip in the dictionary

  1. trioxymethylanthraquinone
  2. trioxymethylanthraquinones
  3. trioxymethylene
  4. triozid
  5. triozids
  6. trip
  7. trip balls
  8. trip bomb
  9. trip bombs
  10. trip computer
  11. trip computers

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: trip (page history and authors); trip (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); trip (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); trip (Kannada Wiktionary) (page history and authors); گیڑا (Punjabi) (page history and authors); પ્રવાસ (Gujarati) (page history and authors); प्रवास (Sanskrit) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-trip.ogg, En-uk-a trip.ogg, en-au-tip.ogg.

Cite this entry: “trip.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/trip. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.