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
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"Earth and Space"
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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:
For the trio, who grew up as massive fans of the American pop group, the entire tour served as a masterclass.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Jacob Bethell will return for England's white-ball tour of Australia, while there are also first international call-ups for exciting prospects Thomas Rew and Eddie Jack.
From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026
Back in July, her L.A. band Twin Temple — famed for diabolical, occult-y riffs on doo-wop and girl-group rock — was booked to tour with country star Charley Crockett.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
Alexandra grinned as she recounted the recent tour debacle to the crowd.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 13, 2026
“It’s a big mystery. There’s even a tour company that does midnight ghost tours. We have their brochure in the office, if you’re interested.”
From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy
Deadlines for both tours are in the next five weeks, although there remains uncertainty surrounding LIV Golf's future, despite it securing a possible $300m in funding as it attempts to restructure.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
Next year, however, players will be asked to disclose which tours they intend to play on, and their answer will be taken into account when deciding on their membership.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026
It offers only guided tours to small groups by prior arrangement.
From Barron's ● Oct. 7, 2026
Its programs involve years of investment in a child to get them into college with tutoring, campus tours and summer programs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 4, 2026
In his thirties, Liszt became music’s first international star, embarking on a merry-go-round of European tours, where he was known, and treated, as ‘The King of the Piano’.
From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall
A girl group that toured Europe with The Pussycat Dolls said it was 'surreal' to join their childhood heroes on stage.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
She toured remote provinces rarely visited by international journalists in recent years thanks to government restrictions and the difficulty of procuring fuel.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
In 2019, they revealed that it was the very first home they toured together while searching for a place where they could embrace the small-town lifestyle they envisioned.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 29, 2026
Nepal's president, Ram Chandra Paudel, toured areas devastated by the floods on Monday, an aide told Reuters.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2026
We went to Rockefeller Center for the Spirit of Anne Frank Award ceremony, we toured Scholastic, Inc. We met the CEO, vice president, and some of the editors.
From "The Freedom Writers Diary" by The Freedom Writers
These days, Cliffe grows tired more easily than when he first started touring campuses, but he said he has no intentions of retiring.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
Deforge arrived in Russia in 2018 while touring with an Italian circus troupe.
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
I don’t understand people who don’t care if Bruce Springsteen never releases another new record as long as he keeps touring.
From Salon ● Oct. 7, 2026
At 43, the former “Parks and Recreation” star and “Master of None” co-creator still loves stand-up — more than TV, more than movies — but he finds touring “really exhausting.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
Each band’s musicians knew the other bands’ one-nighter touring schedules.
From "The Autobiography of Malcolm X" by Alex Malcolm X;Hailey
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.
