visit

[ viz-it ]
See synonyms for: visitvisitedvisitingvisits on Thesaurus.com

verb (used with object)
  1. 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.

  2. to stay with as a guest.

  1. to come or go to: to visit a church for prayer.

  2. to go to for the purpose of official inspection or examination: a general visiting his troops.

  3. to come to in order to comfort or aid: to visit the sick.

  4. to come upon; assail; afflict: The plague visited London in 1665.

  5. to cause trouble, suffering, etc., to come to: to visit him with sorrows.

  6. to access, as a website.

  7. to inflict, as punishment, vengeance, etc. (often followed by on or upon).

verb (used without object)
  1. to make a visit.

  2. to talk or chat casually: to visit on the phone with a friend.

  1. to inflict punishment.

noun
  1. the act of or an instance of visiting: a nice, long visit.

  2. a chat or talk: We had a good visit on the way back from the grocery store.

  1. a call paid to a person, family, etc.

  2. a stay or sojourn as a guest.

  3. an official inspection or examination.

  4. 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.

Origin of visit

1
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

Other words from visit

  • in·ter·vis·it, verb (used without object)
  • non·vis·it·ing, adjective
  • pre·vis·it, noun, verb
  • re·vis·it, verb, noun
  • un·vis·it·ed, adjective
  • un·vis·it·ing, adjective

Words that may be confused with visit

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use visit in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for visit

visit

/ (ˈvɪzɪt) /


verb-its, -iting or -ited
  1. to go or come to see (a person, place, etc)

  2. to stay with (someone) as a guest

  1. to go or come to (an institution, place, etc) for the purpose of inspecting or examining

  2. (tr) (of a disease, disaster, etc) to assail; afflict

  3. (tr; foll by upon or on) to inflict (punishment, etc): the judge visited his full anger upon the defendant

  4. (tr usually foll by with) archaic to afflict or plague (with punishment, etc)

  5. (often foll by with) US and Canadian informal to chat or converse (with someone)

noun
  1. the act or an instance of visiting

  2. a stay as a guest

  1. a professional or official call

  2. a formal call for the purpose of inspection or examination

  3. 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

  4. US and Canadian informal a friendly talk or chat

Origin of visit

1
C13: from Latin vīsitāre to go to see, from vīsere to examine, from vidēre to see

Derived forms of visit

  • visitable, adjective

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with visit

visit

see pay a call (visit).

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.