expedition

[ek-spi-dish-uhn]

noun

1. an excursion, journey, or voyage made for some specific purpose, as of war or exploration.

2. the group of persons, ships, etc., engaged in such an activity.

   a large expedition of scientists and military personnel.

3. promptness or speed in accomplishing something.

   He worked with great expedition.

   Synonyms: alacrity, dispatch, quickness

expedition

/ ˌɛkspɪˈdɪʃən /

noun

1. an organized journey or voyage for a specific purpose, esp for exploration or for a scientific or military purpose

2. the people and equipment comprising an expedition

3. a pleasure trip; excursion

4. promptness in acting; dispatch

Other Word Forms

• preexpedition noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of expedition¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English, from Latin expedītiōn- (stem of expedītiō ) “a (military) traveling.” See expedite, -ion

Word History and Origins

Origin of expedition¹

C15: from Latin expedītiō, from expedīre to prepare, _expedite

Idioms and Phrases

see fishing expedition.

Synonym Study

See trip ¹.

Example Sentences

That naturally cold storage site is a project of the Ice Memory Foundation, which supported the Tajikistan expedition along with main funder, the Swiss Polar Institute.

Read more on Barron's

"Now they are back after the heavy snowfall ended," said expedition operator Mingma Sherpa, whose team has six members.

Read more on BBC

The best story in “Letters” is the first, in which Ada Blackjack, a young Inupiat woman, is the sole survivor of an ill-fated Arctic expedition begun in 1921.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

On their recent expedition at a cattle farm overlooking a picturesque bay, Scmack detected a possum living in a hollow tree on a hillside.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

A few days later, Leask, curious about the tankers, went on his nighttime expedition.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• caravan 
• crew 
• cruise 
• crusade 
• excursion 
• exploration 
• jaunt 
• outing 
• patrol 
• quest 
• safari 
• squadron 
• tour 
• travel 
• trek 
• trip 
• undertaking 

When To Use

What is an expedition?

An expedition is an organized journey or voyage made with a specific purpose, as in Johann packed only a large backpack for the expedition across the Alps. An expedition can describe any trip made with a specific purpose or for the purpose of simple exploration. The term is used formally by militaries, cartographers, groups that aim to protect wildlife, and many others. For example, a military expedition is a specific type of military operation in which a group of soldiers move into a foreign country to accomplish a task. Expedition can also be used to refer to a pleasure trip, especially for a trip to a location that is farther than a person would normally go. Expedition can also refer to the group of people who go on the trip. For example, a scientific expedition to the rainforest can mean the trip to the rainforest or those who go on the trip. Example: We took an expedition around the world to see all the sights.