visit
Americanverb (used with object)
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visits,
present (3rd person singular)
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visited,
past participle, past
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visiting
present participle
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to go to and stay with (a person or family) or at (a place) for a short time for reasons of sociability, politeness, business, curiosity, etc..
to visit a friend; to visit clients; to visit Paris.
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to stay with as a guest.
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to come or go to.
to visit a church for prayer.
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to go to for the purpose of official inspection or examination.
a general visiting his troops.
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to come to in order to comfort or aid.
to visit the sick.
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to come upon; assail; afflict.
The plague visited London in 1665.
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to cause trouble, suffering, etc., to come to.
to visit him with sorrows.
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to access, as a website.
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to inflict, as punishment, vengeance, etc. (often followed by on orupon ).
verb (used without object)
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visits,
present (3rd person singular)
-
visited,
past participle, past
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visiting
present participle
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to make a visit.
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to talk or chat casually.
to visit on the phone with a friend.
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to inflict punishment.
noun
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visits
plural
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the act of or an instance of visiting.
a nice, long visit.
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a chat or talk.
We had a good visit on the way back from the grocery store.
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a call paid to a person, family, etc.
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a stay or sojourn as a guest.
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an official inspection or examination.
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the act of an officer of a belligerent nation in boarding a vessel in order to ascertain the nature of its cargo, its nationality, etc..
the right of visit and search.
verb
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to go or come to see (a person, place, etc)
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to stay with (someone) as a guest
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to go or come to (an institution, place, etc) for the purpose of inspecting or examining
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(tr) (of a disease, disaster, etc) to assail; afflict
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(tr; foll by upon or on) to inflict (punishment, etc)
the judge visited his full anger upon the defendant
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archaic to afflict or plague (with punishment, etc)
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informal (often foll by with) to chat or converse (with someone)
noun
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the act or an instance of visiting
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a stay as a guest
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a professional or official call
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a formal call for the purpose of inspection or examination
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international law the right of an officer of a belligerent state to stop and search neutral ships in war to verify their nationality and ascertain whether they carry contraband
the right of visit and search
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informal a friendly talk or chat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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previsitnoun
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revisitverb
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intervisitverb (used without object)
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nonvisitingadjective
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unvisitedadjective
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unvisitingadjective
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visitableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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visitsimple
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visitssimple
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have visitedperfect
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has visitedperfect
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am visitingprogressive
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are visitingprogressive
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is visitingprogressive
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have been visitingperfect progressive
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has been visitingperfect progressive
Past
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visitedsimple
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had visitedperfect
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was visitingprogressive
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were visitingprogressive
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had been visitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of visit
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English visiten (verb), from Old French visiter, from Latin vīsitāre “to see repeatedly,” from vīsere “to go to see,” from vidēre “to see”; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
When you travel to another place, or spend some time at a friend's house, it's a visit. You should visit your grandmother! It's been a while since she's had a visit from you. Whenever you spend a temporary amount of time with another person or in another place, that's a visit — whether it's your visit to San Francisco or your visit to the doctor for a checkup. In some parts of the U.S., visit is also a name for a chat: "I had a nice visit with your Aunt Sylvia yesterday." And if you pay a visit to someone, you go see them for a while.
Vocabulary lists containing visit
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:
What began as a visit to discuss earlier vaccine research eventually led scientists to investigate whether different flu vaccine doses might be associated with different levels of Alzheimer's risk.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 8, 2026
During the group's visit, they enjoy lunch overlooking the Indian Ocean before heading out to explore the beaches and sand dunes.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
The winery gets fees from the tour companies for each visit, about $327,000 last year, but those fees basically just cover the cost of holding tastings for the visitors and giving them tours.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 7, 2026
The arrangement was greenlit during Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's visit to Riyadh this week, during which the two countries agreed to various deals, according to the PLC source.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2026
“Only dorks visit chat rooms,” one of the girls said, looping her arm around the jeering guy’s elbow.
From "Found" by Margaret Peterson Haddix
“It’s not working,” Corona said, telling me she visits other cities that are in better shape and wonders why L.A. can’t sort through its bureaucratic sclerosis.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 5, 2026
Wong has maintained his curiosity and desire to gain a deeper understanding of the world, said Louis Lee, a friend who visits Wong regularly in prison.
From Barron's ● Nov. 4, 2026
According to Numerator, U.S. visits to McDonald’s declined 6.2% in the third quarter.
From MarketWatch ● Nov. 4, 2026
Customers still cut back on visits, though, as people reported explosive diarrhea and stomach cramping after dining at the chain’s locations.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
After the cabinet meeting ended, the president followed his usual routine: receiving visits from friends and job seekers, reading his mail, and catching up on paperwork.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Although she has spent only a few hours in Mogadishu, she has already visited the sand dunes and taken in the Indian Ocean coastline.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
In 2025, it was visited by 16.2 million people, the city said.
From Barron's ● Nov. 7, 2026
Several times before his death, the former emperor visited the Forbidden City, where he and Wanrong had lived together.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026
I visited museums, played arcade games at Santa Monica Pier and walked Venice Beach at sunset.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 6, 2026
“My dear Mr. Harley-Dickinson,” she wrote, addressing a playwright friend of hers who had briefly and memorably visited Ashton Place some weeks before, and who was never very far from her mind.
From "The Interrupted Tale" by Maryrose Wood
The Trip is directed by Michael Winterbottom and follows the pair as they travel around the world and dine at different restaurants, visiting Scandinavia this time in The Trip to the Northern Lights.
From BBC ● Nov. 7, 2026
One 10-minute chat with a visiting University of Oregon professor eventually landed him a scholarship there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 5, 2026
Sofia was visiting family in Hong Kong in July when her nine-month-old son Matthew contracted influenza A. He suffered three cardiac arrests, leaving him unconscious and on a ventilator.
From BBC ● Nov. 4, 2026
In the run-up to opening, the New York-based Schrager said, he’s been visiting L.A. weekly for the last few months.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 3, 2026
It was a sunny Sunday and there still weren't very many people visiting.
From "Pony Problems: Nancy Drew and the Clue Crew, #3" by Carolyn Keene
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