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

They are brass, ivory and wooden sculptures that once adorned the royal palace of the Benin Kingdom before British soldiers looted them in 1897 during a punitive expedition.

Read more on BBC

Even the 1962-63 tour was not quite the gruelling expedition of previous Ashes journeys.

Read more on BBC

The expedition to recover the deepest ice samples ever extracted from the Pamir, one of the world's highest and least-studied mountain ranges, aims to give scientists access to one of the planet's oldest climate archives.

Read more on Barron's

Mr Lamichhane added that they were also coordinating with the trekking agency that had organised their expedition to Dolma Khang to find out more details on the missing.

Read more on BBC

"Ice cores are like time machines that let scientists take a look at what our planet was like in the past," explained Shackleton, who has worked on several Antarctic drilling expeditions.

Read more on Science Daily

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.