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
-
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:
The realities of ultra-endurance exercise - multi-day events, sleep deprivation, extreme terrain and conditions, to name but a few – mean the journey to the finish line is as much mental as it is physical.
From BBC ● Sep. 9, 2026
But Jesse Eisenberg’s delightful comedy takes so many odd, interesting and occasionally surreal turns in its hero’s journey that you’re never quite sure where it’s going next.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2026
That’s because there are several assets and provisions for all stages of your wealth and career journey that can be covered by a prenuptial agreement.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 8, 2026
The defendants have denied being smugglers and disputed their responsibility, or have presented themselves as migrants seeking to make the journey themselves.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
My whole journey was laid out before me.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
"Equally, if some of those players' journeys go at rapid speed, they might go somewhere else but, of course, that's normal. That's part of football."
From BBC ● Sep. 8, 2026
"It will also be a tool to break the business model of cynical migrant smugglers that are exploiting vulnerable people who risk their lives on perilous journeys to Europe," they said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Sep. 4, 2026
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: "We'll start getting rid of the dreaded 'ironing board seats' so passengers can enjoy comfier, more pleasant journeys on some of Britain's busiest commuter routes."
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
More recently, golden-years comedies like “Book Club,” “80 for Brady” and way too many movies starring the late Diane Keaton have sent friend groups on journeys that have them reevaluating relationships and life goals.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 21, 2026
She had to go under the hedge in two journeys in order not to spill the water from the jug.
From "Coraline" by Neil Gaiman
These resonated, she wrote, after "my daughter and I journeyed 10 years with only each other".
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
At hiring and promotion time, he gives an edge to more journeyed candidates.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 23, 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
Between the 1930s and the 1970s, German ethnologist Hans Himmelheber journeyed across Ivory Coast amassing a collection of ritual objects.
From Barron's ● Jan. 16, 2026
Scarcely taking time to dry themselves, they journeyed on.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
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
He says that many of them were thirsty, starving or had rotten feet after journeying into Evros.
From BBC ● Apr. 14, 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
The three cosmonauts were journeying to a Soviet space station, the Salyut 7, where they would rendezvous with two other cosmonauts who had been at the station for six months.
From "Women in Space" by Karen Bush Gibson
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.
