trek
Americanverb (used without object)
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treks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
trekked,
past participle, past
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trekking
present participle
-
to travel or migrate slowly or with difficulty, often through rough or unsettled territory.
He managed to escape from a Siberian labor camp and trekked to Iran, a three-year journey.
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to hike long distances as a recreational activity, especially over rough terrain.
He's trekked through the Himalayas and summited Mt. Kilimanjaro.
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to make a short but difficult trip on foot.
We trekked back to our hotel in the pouring rain.
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South Africa. to travel by ox wagon.
verb (used with object)
-
treks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
trekked,
past participle, past
-
trekking
present participle
noun
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treks
plural
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a slow or difficult journey, hike, or trip.
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South Africa.
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a migration or expedition, especially by ox wagon.
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a stage of such a journey, between one stopping place and the next.
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noun
-
a long and often difficult journey
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a journey or stage of a journey, esp a migration by ox wagon
verb
-
(intr) to make a trek
-
(tr) (of an ox, etc) to draw (a load)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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treksimple
-
trekssimple
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have trekkedperfect
-
has trekkedperfect
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am trekkingprogressive
-
are trekkingprogressive
-
is trekkingprogressive
-
have been trekkingperfect progressive
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has been trekkingperfect progressive
Past
-
trekkedsimple
-
had trekkedperfect
-
was trekkingprogressive
-
were trekkingprogressive
-
had been trekkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of trek
First recorded in 1845–50; from Afrikaans and Dutch noun trek “a tug, pull, march”; verb from Afrikaans trek “to draw, pull, migrate,” from Dutch trekken
Explanation
Want to go on a trek through the mountains? Make sure you have good shoes, drinking water, and snacks. A trek is a long and difficult journey. The word trek implies an extended trip that is hard — a climb up a mountain or a journey through dense forests. In Star Trek, the crew of the Enterprise is on a journey through space that will last a long time. You wouldn't say that you took a trek to the corner grocery unless you had to fight through three feet of snow to get there.
Vocabulary lists containing trek
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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:
It would hardly be a surprise to find that Brazilians want to join the trek.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
Anthony, a Zimbabwean in his forties, was picked up by the ICE last year after crossing the Mexican border at the end of a long, dangerous trek through central America.
From Barron's ● Sep. 10, 2026
But in California, it’s a trek from one spot to another, so Holly spends time with her children at her ex’s home.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
Harris, who also had Irish citizenship, had set off on the trek around 05:40 local time on Saturday with a hiking companion.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
In his words, “One of the great tragedies of man’s long trek along the highway of history has been the limiting of neighborly concern to tribe, race, class or nation.”
From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander
Shore excursions include bespoke tours of local pubs in Prague and nighttime city treks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
This mission is a test flight designed to inform future treks, such as Artemis IV, a moon landing currently slated for 2028.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026
They bought a house in El Valle de Anton, a beautiful town known for exotic wildlife, breathtaking treks, and fresh mountain air.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
The shoot involved long treks up a mountain each day, unpredictable weather, veteran actors, heavy equipment and frequent rushes to beat the rain and descending clouds.
From BBC ● Feb. 7, 2026
In addition, Amari figured out a way to catch crayfish in the shallows, the tangy flesh a delicious treat as they began their seemingly unending nighttime treks.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
In 30C heat, I am finding it hard to keep up, with Karl showing no sign of fatigue, despite having trekked 10 miles before lunch.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
But the whole experience has made me wary enough that now, whether I’ve trekked through nature or the concrete jungle, a quick tick check is a part of my nighttime routine.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Brothers Sal and Daniello Cohen have trekked around the U.S. with Sal’s son to follow the Dutch team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Michele described carrying a binder with hundreds of pages of medical records and creating spreadsheets to track symptoms as they trekked from hospital to hospital, doctor to doctor, to get treatment for Aidan.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
Got as close as I could from the road and then trekked in, back and forth, one box at a time.
From "The Marrow Thieves" by Cherie Dimaline
This necessitates using canes, trekking poles and the occasional walker as well as taking a wheelchair to the airport gate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
They include tourists who had come for trekking in the Himalayas, as well as Hindu pilgrims seeking spiritual peace at Tibet's sacred Mount Kailash.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
When she moved to rural Alaska to work in a clinic, Higdon bought a few yaks in the town of North Pole and started a trekking business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
David Cifaldi was hiking Montana’s Granite Peak with friends when he slipped and was impaled by his trekking pole.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
Everyone had assumed that Shackleton's team was trekking overland, only to find themselves abandoned.
From "Shipwreck at the Bottom of the World" by Jennifer Armstrong
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
