journey
Americannoun
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journeys
plural
-
a traveling from one place to another, usually taking a rather long time; trip.
a six-day journey across the desert.
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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
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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
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journeysimple
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journeyssimple
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have journeyedperfect
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has journeyedperfect
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am journeyingprogressive
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are journeyingprogressive
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is journeyingprogressive
-
have been journeyingperfect progressive
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has been journeyingperfect progressive
Past
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journeyedsimple
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had journeyedperfect
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was journeyingprogressive
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were journeyingprogressive
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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:
It was an incredible journey, and it was kind of inspired by Hemingway, in a way, it was the same class of boat that he had.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Wilkinson made his debut for the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday, completing his improbable journey from suburban Vancouver to the highest level of the sport.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
"For the Mauritshuis, the Girl's journey is a special opportunity to share her with the Japanese public, perhaps for the very last time," said Mauritshuis' director Martine Gosselink.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Foster even posted some photos of his journey as a real-estate agent on social media, including one of those open houses.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 19, 2026
Ellis had barely spoken ten words during the journey, but the absence of his looming figure among them made their group seem very much smaller and weaker.
From "Rowan of Rin" by Emily Rodda
Recent cup winners Stuttgart and Eintracht Frankfurt start their cup journeys against lower league opposition on Friday, while holders Bayern Munich play on September 2.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
Today, I’m more interested in the parents, the journeys, sacrifices and terrible fast food breakfasts that got them there.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026
Officials expect there to be as many as 1.5 million extra road journeys towards the band of totality.
From Barron's ● Aug. 11, 2026
There’s a critical difference between Erle and Lee’s early-graduation journeys, according to Beth Hendler-Grunt, founder and president of career-coaching firm Next Great Step.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 4, 2026
There was a large jar of Fleetwood’s High-Finish Handle Polish, a pair of gleaming silver Tail-Twig Clippers, a tiny brass compass to clip on your broom for long journeys, and a Handbook of Do-It-Yourself Broomcare.
From "Harry Potter And The Prisoner Of Azkaban" by J.K. Rowling
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
When he was 13 years old, he journeyed from Yokohama to school in Indiana—alone.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 8, 2026
Misley Mandarin, one of the British-Chagossians who journeyed to the territory, said he had come "peacefully, respectfully, and without threat to anyone - simply to stand on our homeland again".
From BBC ● Feb. 20, 2026
Humans have journeyed roughly 25 billion km beyond our planet, yet drilling beneath Earth's surface has only reached a depth of just over 12 km.
From Science Daily ● Feb. 5, 2026
After his victory in Poughkeepsie, he had journeyed alone to Pennsylvania, where he visited his uncle Sam and aunt Alma Castner, who had taken him in all those years before, when his mother died.
From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown
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
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
The film moves beyond the climate crisis to the increase in climate refugees, which Fox underscores by starting with Americans, including victims of the Paradise blaze, before journeying around the globe.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 9, 2026
Odin called the gods to him, with Tyr and Thor at their head, and he told them that they would be journeying far into Jotunheim, to Giantland, to bring Loki’s children to Asgard.
From "Norse Mythology" by Neil Gaiman
Definitions 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.
