journey
Americannoun
-
journeys
plural
-
a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time; trip.
a six-day journey across the desert.
-
a distance, course, or area traveled or suitable for traveling.
a desert journey.
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a period of travel.
a week's journey.
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passage or progress from one stage to another.
the journey to success.
verb (used without object)
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journeys,
present (3rd person singular)
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journeyed,
past participle, past
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journeying
present participle
noun
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a travelling from one place to another; trip or voyage
-
-
the distance travelled in a journey
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the time taken to make a journey
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verb
Usage
What does journey mean? A journey is a trip, especially one to a faraway place that takes place over a long period of time. The word trip can refer to any instance of traveling from one place to another, no matter how long or short it is. The word journey, though, typically implies a long trip—one that’s at least several hours, and perhaps several months or even years. It also often implies adventure—a journey might even be a quest. A journey may or may not have a planned destination other than whatever lies ahead. The word is also commonly used in a figurative way to liken any lengthy process or progress to such a trip, as in Life is a journey, with many interesting detours. Journey can also be used as a verb meaning to make a long trip, as in We must journey to the land beyond the mountains. Example: My favorite books are about people who make epic journeys around the world.
Synonym Usage
See trip 1.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
journeysimple
-
journeyssimple
-
have journeyedperfect
-
has journeyedperfect
-
am journeyingprogressive
-
are journeyingprogressive
-
is journeyingprogressive
-
have been journeyingperfect progressive
-
has been journeyingperfect progressive
Past
-
journeyedsimple
-
had journeyedperfect
-
was journeyingprogressive
-
were journeyingprogressive
-
had been journeyingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of journey
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English journee “day,” from Old French, from unattested Vulgar Latin diurnāta “a day's time, day's work, etc.,” equivalent to Latin diurn(us) “daily” + -āta, feminine of -ātus -ate 1; see -ade 1
Explanation
If you're looking for a more refined word to call your latest drive to the beach or trip to the mall, try journey — a noun that describes travel from one place to another. From the Old French journée, meaning a “day’s work or travel,” journey doubles as both noun and verb. The noun simply refers to a voyage; the verb is the act of taking that voyage. So you can journey across the Sahara, or tell friends about your journey across the desert if you make it back alive. Either way, you should always remember that life is a journey, not a destination.
Vocabulary lists containing journey
Michelle Obama's Speech at the 2016 DNC
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Beowulf vocabulary
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Greetings, World Traveler! — List 2
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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:
In 2025, Begley's Blanket on the Ground becoming the unofficial anthem for the Dungannon Swifts and their journey to the Irish Cup final.
From BBC ● Nov. 12, 2026
But when we see Billy at this point in “VisionQuest,” I think he’s gone on that journey already.
From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 11, 2026
Promoters hope to launch an air-taxi service between the airport and the Colombo city centre, a journey that takes about half an hour by car.
From Barron's ● Nov. 11, 2026
Johnson told jurors that ordinarily the next stop after Peterborough would be Stevenage, a journey that takes "exactly 30 minutes".
From BBC ● Nov. 10, 2026
He glanced out the bright windows, then boomed, “Even the sunshine is somber today, brothers and sisters, when we see Miss Myrt Arbuckle on her final journey, as she swaps semesters for eternity.”
From "The Teacher’s Funeral" by Richard Peck
I also write and talk about mental health, and I’ve helped coach a number of people—friends of friends, mothers of friends, even near-strangers—through their own ECT journeys.
From Slate ● Nov. 11, 2026
The findings help explain why some sinking material transports carbon much farther into the ocean than other particles, even though both begin their journeys near the surface.
From Science Daily ● Nov. 9, 2026
The UK government said this year had seen the lowest number of summer arrivals - a period when journeys often rise in part due to the warmer weather - since 2020.
From BBC ● Nov. 6, 2026
In over four years since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, many families have faced similar journeys, from persistent air attacks to experience of fleeing Moscow’s advancing forces and leaving their homes behind.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 2026
So journeys through unknown parts of America became my chief war memory, and I think of the first of them as this nighttime trip to Leper’s.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
These resonated, she wrote, after "my daughter and I journeyed 10 years with only each other".
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
The woman, a US citizen, journeyed halfway across the globe to reach remote Pitcairn Island after disembarking the cruise ship in Saint Helena, authorities said.
From Barron's ● May 15, 2026
The group journeyed to a gothic mansion in La Jolla and dressed as Marie Antoinette in extravagant rococo dresses.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2026
At hiring and promotion time, he gives an edge to more journeyed candidates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 2026
And because Roscuro was dazzled by the light of one match and journeyed upstairs and fell into the queens soup and the queen died, the king ordered the death of every rat in the land.
From "The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread" by Kate DiCamillo
Evan Mills, a financial advisor at Scholar Advising who works with SpaceX employees, previously told MarketWatch that many of those employees believe in the company’s long-term vision, which includes journeying to Mars.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 20, 2026
Well, I have just had the privilege of spending a month journeying - literally and figuratively - through some of the divisions that define modern Britain, for a Radio 4 series.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
That’s a worthy destination for the journeying Mr. Burnham.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 19, 2026
In a blaring nightclub in wartime Myanmar, partied-out revellers doze until dawn by the dancefloor, wary of journeying home despite the end of a post-coup curfew.
From Barron's ● Jun. 12, 2026
After journeying to Memphis and Boston, I went to Washington to address a joint session of Congress and attend a private meeting with President Bush.
From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
