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walkabout

[wawk-uh-bout]
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noun
  1. Chiefly British.
    1. a walking tour.
    2. an informal public stroll taken by members of the royal family or by a political figure for the purpose of greeting and being seen by the public.
  2. Australian.
    1. a brief, informal leave from work, taken by an Aborigine to wander the bush, visit relatives, or return to native life.
    2. absence from work.

Origin of walkabout

First recorded in 1905–10; noun use of verb phrase walk about
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

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British Dictionary definitions for walkabout

walkabout

noun
  1. a periodic nomadic excursion into the Australian bush made by a native Australian
  2. a walking tour
  3. an occasion when celebrities, royalty, etc, walk among and meet the public
  4. go walkabout Australian
    1. to wander through the bush
    2. informalto be lost or misplaced
    3. informalto lose one's concentration
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

Word Origin and History for walkabout

n.

"periodic migration by a westernized Aboriginal into the bush," 1828, Australian English, from walk (v.) + about.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper