tour
Americannoun
-
tours
plural
-
a traveling around from place to place.
-
a long journey including the visiting of a number of places in sequence, especially with an organized group led by a guide.
- Synonyms:
- expedition, trip
-
a brief trip through a place, as a building or a site, in order to view or inspect it.
The visiting prime minister was given a tour of the chemical plant.
-
a journey from town to town to fulfill engagements, as by a theatrical company or an entertainer.
to go on tour; a European concert tour.
-
a period of duty at one place or in one job.
verb (used without object)
-
tours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
toured,
past participle, past
-
touring
present participle
-
to travel from place to place.
- Synonyms:
- visit
-
to travel from town to town fulfilling engagements.
verb (used with object)
-
tours,
present (3rd person singular)
-
toured,
past participle, past
-
touring
present participle
-
to travel through (a place).
- Synonyms:
- visit
-
to send or take (a theatrical company, its production, etc.) from town to town.
-
to guide (someone) on a tour.
He toured us through the chateaus of the Loire Valley.
noun
-
an extended journey, usually taken for pleasure, visiting places of interest along the route
-
military a period of service, esp in one place of duty
-
a short trip, as for inspection
-
a trip made by a theatre company, orchestra, etc, to perform in several different places
a concert tour
-
an overseas trip made by a cricket or rugby team, etc, to play in several places
verb
-
to make a tour of (a place)
-
to perform (a show) or promote (a product) in several different places
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
toursimple
-
tourssimple
-
have touredperfect
-
has touredperfect
-
am touringprogressive
-
are touringprogressive
-
is touringprogressive
-
have been touringperfect progressive
-
has been touringperfect progressive
Past
-
touredsimple
-
had touredperfect
-
was touringprogressive
-
were touringprogressive
-
had been touringperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of tour
1250–1300; Middle English (noun) < Middle French < Latin tornus < Greek tórnos tool for making a circle. See turn
Explanation
Use the noun tour to describe a route taken while sight-seeing or the act of experiencing a place, like a tour of Italy in which travelers tour museums and churches. Not all tours have to do with vacations. In fact, a tour can be quite the opposite, such as a snowplow driver whose tour during a blizzard lasts until the streets are clear, or military personnel who serve a tour of duty in the place they are assigned. These kinds of tours involve a commitment of work or service for a certain period of time.
Vocabulary lists containing tour
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Greetings, World Traveler! — List 3
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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 group’s current European tour includes stops in Spain, France and the U.K. — with a lengthy U.S. jaunt to follow in the fall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
Burnham is visiting a location in south Wales as part of his listening tour.
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Several of the tour groups also announced missing foreigners whose nationalities had not been confirmed.
From Barron's ● Aug. 26, 2026
In the state’s Midcoast and Downeast regions, about a dozen tour operators have sprung up to serve the burgeoning puffin-cruise business.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
They got worse from there, but they did include an image of the new cover, a screenshot of the tour schedule, and a photo of Lorren crossing her eyes and sticking out her tongue.
From "Bye Forever, I Guess" by Jodi Meadows
Phil activities throughout his tenure, taking them on foreign orchestra tours and even including them on a Super Bowl halftime.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
A lot has happened since then, with millions of albums sold, world tours and, yes, they did lead the next generation with their harder-edged sound paving the way for acts like Ateez and Stray Kids.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 25, 2026
In a nod to Rolli Days, the city has recently launched Staglieno Days, which will take place on Sept. 26 and 27, featuring themed tours, concerts and pageant-like performances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Travel agents have access to cheaper bookings and perks: They can often provide discounts on hotels, cruises and tours, or access to perks like VIP packages and upgraded rooms that aren’t available to the public.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 18, 2026
“Can we still take class tours as we did yesterday?”
From "From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler" by E.L. Konigsburg
Chaves toured the maximum-security prison Bukele built and spearheaded the construction of a similar facility in Costa Rica, which is expected to open later this year.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 27, 2026
"After sunset is a lot more comfortable," Victor Li, 52, told AFP as he toured the arena and the underground passages where animals and gladiators were once held.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
The band toured the U.S., playing anywhere that would have them; there was no touring circuit for original bands starting out back then.
From Salon ● Aug. 10, 2026
The then-hypothetical facility had been a critical contingency for Riley, who never toured USC’s facilities, but knew — like most people around college football — that the Trojans were seriously lacking in that department.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 7, 2026
Second, accompanied by a K.B.I. agent, Mrs. Helm had explored every room at River Valley Farm, toured the house in the expectation that she might notice something awry or absent, and she had.
From "In Cold Blood" by Truman Capote
Fratti performed on some of the band’s earliest records, and asked Derbez to house-sit for her while she was away touring.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
“We started touring really early,” the manager says.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 26, 2026
In fact, he's looking forward to touring Thrasher, simply for the joy of playing new material, and re-arranging some of the classics.
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 2026
Morgan analyst Rajat Gupta said in an Aug. 18 client note after touring Tesla’s factory in Fremont, Calif.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 21, 2026
I was off becoming a comedian, touring the country, playing shows in England, hosting radio shows, hosting television shows.
From "Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood" by Trevor Noah
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.
