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:
"This is a journey through serious, remote and challenging terrain, with sections where there may be no obvious path to follow."
From BBC ● Aug. 8, 2026
“During this journey, you can only imagine there’s a lot of highs and a lot of lows,” Ludlow said then.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Recently, a new season of “Hard Knocks” premiered, HBO’s behind-the-scenes journey through one American pro football team’s pre-season training camp.
From Salon ● Aug. 7, 2026
Chavez's journey to Mexico had occurred "in a context of security and calm," Espa told the Canal N television channel.
From Barron's ● Aug. 7, 2026
It was a long, cold journey to Womengo.
From "Black Star, Bright Dawn" by Scott O'Dell
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
Later, merchants and government officials sponsored larger and more elaborately decorated caves to curry karmic favor on their journeys, as well as to promote their particular religious and aesthetic visions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Some had made long journeys from cities as far away as Marrakesh and Kenitra after hearing of a chance to reach European soil.
From Barron's ● Jul. 31, 2026
For travellers who were eventually able to log in, their journeys simply did not appear when they attempted to search for trains.
From BBC ● Jul. 30, 2026
It was the first song on all journeys the family took together.
From "The Great Santini" by Pat Conroy
These resonated, she wrote, after "my daughter and I journeyed 10 years with only each other".
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
A group of U.S. executives also journeyed to Caracas to discuss potential investments.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 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
It happened that soon after their arrival Perseus heard that the King of Larissa, in the North, was holding a great athletic contest, and he journeyed there to take part.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
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
Earlier this week, the four astronauts on NASA’s Artemis II lunar mission rode their Orion craft into the record books, journeying farther beyond their home planet than any humans before them.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 10, 2026
The four astronauts on NASA's Artemis 2 mission began their fifth day journeying to the Moon on Sunday, after already taking in sights of the lunar surface never before seen by human eyes.
From Barron's ● Apr. 5, 2026
This year, Times restaurant critic Bill Addison took the challenge further and spent months journeying California to find the best restaurants that depict the state’s eclectic food scene accurately.
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 31, 2025
And in time, I may find myself his first mate whether I want to or not, journeying to points exotic so that I might make another dive, and another, and another.
From "Challenger Deep" by Neal Shusterman
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.
