traipse

American  

[treyps] / treɪps /

Older Spelling, trapes

verb (used without object)

traipsed, traipsing

1. to walk or go aimlessly or idly or without finding or reaching one's goal.

   We traipsed all over town looking for a copy of the book.

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verb (used with object)

traipsed, traipsing

1. to walk over; tramp.

   to traipse the fields.

noun

1. a tiring walk.

traipse British  

/ treɪps /

verb

1. (intr) to walk heavily or tiredly

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noun

1. a long or tiring walk; trudge

Usage

Where does the word traipse come from? Traipse generally means "to wander aimlessly or idly while never reaching one's goal," as in Last night, they traipsed all over town trying to find a store that was still open.Well, you'll certainly wander aimlessly if you try to find the origin of the word traipse.The word is first recorded around 1585–95. It could be related to the verb tramp, and one can definitely traipse, or "walk over," something, such as fields or flowers. An alternative theory connects traipse to trespass, which originates from French.Traipse isn’t alone: it finds lots of company in other English words that seem simple but whose origins are not. Discover more in our slideshow “‘Dog,’ ‘Boy,’ And Other Words That We Don’t Know Where They Came From."

Etymology

Origin of traipse

First recorded in 1585–95; earlier trapse, unexplained variant of trape, of disputed origin; perhaps obscurely akin to tramp

Related Words

• amble
• lumber
• meander
• plod
• prance
• roam
• stroll
• strut
• trudge
• wander