tour
Americannoun
-
tours
plural
-
a traveling around from place to place.
-
a long journey including the visiting of a number of places in sequence, especially with an organized group led by a guide.
- Synonyms:
- expedition, trip
-
a brief trip through a place, as a building or a site, in order to view or inspect it.
The visiting prime minister was given a tour of the chemical plant.
-
a journey from town to town to fulfill engagements, as by a theatrical company or an entertainer.
to go on tour; a European concert tour.
-
a period of duty at one place or in one job.
verb (used without object)
-
tours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
toured,
past participle, past
-
touring
present participle
-
to travel from place to place.
- Synonyms:
- visit
-
to travel from town to town fulfilling engagements.
verb (used with object)
-
tours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
toured,
past participle, past
-
touring
present participle
-
to travel through (a place).
- Synonyms:
- visit
-
to send or take (a theatrical company, its production, etc.) from town to town.
-
to guide (someone) on a tour.
He toured us through the chateaus of the Loire Valley.
noun
-
an extended journey, usually taken for pleasure, visiting places of interest along the route
-
military a period of service, esp in one place of duty
-
a short trip, as for inspection
-
a trip made by a theatre company, orchestra, etc, to perform in several different places
a concert tour
-
an overseas trip made by a cricket or rugby team, etc, to play in several places
verb
-
to make a tour of (a place)
-
to perform (a show) or promote (a product) in several different places
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
toursimple
-
tourssimple
-
have touredperfect
-
has touredperfect
-
am touringprogressive
-
are touringprogressive
-
is touringprogressive
-
have been touringperfect progressive
-
has been touringperfect progressive
Past
-
touredsimple
-
had touredperfect
-
was touringprogressive
-
were touringprogressive
-
had been touringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tour
1250–1300; Middle English (noun) < Middle French < Latin tornus < Greek tórnos tool for making a circle. See turn
Explanation
Use the noun tour to describe a route taken while sight-seeing or the act of experiencing a place, like a tour of Italy in which travelers tour museums and churches. Not all tours have to do with vacations. In fact, a tour can be quite the opposite, such as a snowplow driver whose tour during a blizzard lasts until the streets are clear, or military personnel who serve a tour of duty in the place they are assigned. These kinds of tours involve a commitment of work or service for a certain period of time.
Vocabulary lists containing tour
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Next to it, a poster advertises the open-air mass that US-born Leo will celebrate next Monday in Buenos Aires, on the second-leg of his South American tour.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
Pope Leo, who recently underwent surgery for lung cancer, will wrap up his first Latin American tour in Peru, after visiting Uruguay and Argentina.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
About 80% of them, unsurprisingly, did a tour at Palantir, which makes bespoke data management and analysis software for businesses and governments and is credited with making FDEs popular in recent years.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
Ironically, director Sam Pinkleton originally resisted the idea of a tour, feeling the show might lose some of its charm on the road.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
“You were on the tour this weekend, weren’t you?”
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
In the 2000s, the U.S. hosted tours of American carriers for Chinese delegations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026
Writing in The Guardian days before attending a Commonwealth leaders summit in the Caribbean, and as King Charles III tours the region, the British premier argued that "we need to face up to the past".
From Barron's ● Oct. 31, 2026
According to Science Center employees, one of the most common questions that comes up on museum tours is about where, and how, astronauts went to the bathroom.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026
Also go for: Weekend après parties at Canyon Lodge bring DJs to the slopes, while off-mountain excursions range from guided snowmobile tours to tubing at Woolly’s Adventure Summit, a family-friendly amusement park.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
In his tours of the island he had found acorns and hickory nuts and also wild sunflowers full of seed.
From "Abel's Island" by William Steig
To help finance the company, James toured with other ballet troupes including Northern Ballet.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Disc Two focuses on a quintet Mr. Holland established in 1997, and that toured extensively until 2010.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 20, 2026
Protesters and police clashed in Albania's capital for a third straight day on Thursday, when the prime minister toured the aftermath of demonstrations that left government buildings badly damaged.
From Barron's ● Oct. 15, 2026
A girl group that toured Europe with The Pussycat Dolls said it was 'surreal' to join their childhood heroes on stage.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
I’d never seen him before and, seeing how I wasn’t in the mood for chitchat, I toured the store, hoping Hank would presto soon.
From "Anthem of a Reluctant Prophet" by Joanne Proulx
But the US pope insists he is fit enough for what will be one of the most ambitious papal foreign trips in decades, touring Uruguay, Argentina and Peru, she said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 3, 2026
Nelson claims he’s slowing down in his old age, but given his prolific touring and recording, plenty of young musicians want what he’s having.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026
Seven pipers from the National Piping Centre have been touring Guyana over the past week to learn more about the Guyanese musical traditions.
From BBC ● Oct. 30, 2026
Passengers on a luxury ship touring the world were told their unexpected final stop was Cambodia after the cruise company suspended operations, citing fuel costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 28, 2026
I wanted him to stop touring, get a real job, and be home every day like he used to be when we were young.
From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall
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