trek
Americanverb (used without object)
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treks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
trekked,
past participle, past
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trekking
present participle
-
to travel or migrate slowly or with difficulty, often through rough or unsettled territory.
He managed to escape from a Siberian labor camp and trekked to Iran, a three-year journey.
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to hike long distances as a recreational activity, especially over rough terrain.
He's trekked through the Himalayas and summited Mt. Kilimanjaro.
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to make a short but difficult trip on foot.
We trekked back to our hotel in the pouring rain.
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South Africa. to travel by ox wagon.
verb (used with object)
-
treks,
present (3rd person singular)
-
trekked,
past participle, past
-
trekking
present participle
noun
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treks
plural
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a slow or difficult journey, hike, or trip.
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South Africa.
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a migration or expedition, especially by ox wagon.
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a stage of such a journey, between one stopping place and the next.
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noun
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a long and often difficult journey
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a journey or stage of a journey, esp a migration by ox wagon
verb
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(intr) to make a trek
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(tr) (of an ox, etc) to draw (a load)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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treksimple
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trekssimple
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have trekkedperfect
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has trekkedperfect
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am trekkingprogressive
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are trekkingprogressive
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is trekkingprogressive
-
have been trekkingperfect progressive
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has been trekkingperfect progressive
Past
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trekkedsimple
-
had trekkedperfect
-
was trekkingprogressive
-
were trekkingprogressive
-
had been trekkingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of trek
First recorded in 1845–50; from Afrikaans and Dutch noun trek “a tug, pull, march”; verb from Afrikaans trek “to draw, pull, migrate,” from Dutch trekken
Explanation
Want to go on a trek through the mountains? Make sure you have good shoes, drinking water, and snacks. A trek is a long and difficult journey. The word trek implies an extended trip that is hard — a climb up a mountain or a journey through dense forests. In Star Trek, the crew of the Enterprise is on a journey through space that will last a long time. You wouldn't say that you took a trek to the corner grocery unless you had to fight through three feet of snow to get there.
Vocabulary lists containing trek
President Obama's Farewell Address
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Stargirl
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The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
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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:
He had become separated from his wife in the long trek to safety and was now worried that she had not made it.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
Hackney, now writing a book about her monthslong trek on the Appalachian Trail following the death of her father, doesn’t feel entirely at home in those mountains today.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 7, 2026
As a teenager in 1992, Lobga joined an outflow of Tibetans migrating to India, which involves a dangerous monthlong trek across the Himalayas.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 6, 2026
Based on Homer's poem written originally in Greek around the 7th or 8th century BC, the film tracks hero Odysseus as he faces obstacle after obstacle on his trek home from the Trojan War.
From Barron's ● Jul. 30, 2026
“We don’t have time to trek across the world, not with Snow White most likely being—” He stopped and glanced at May.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
Shore excursions include bespoke tours of local pubs in Prague and nighttime city treks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
This mission is a test flight designed to inform future treks, such as Artemis IV, a moon landing currently slated for 2028.
From Salon ● Apr. 7, 2026
They bought a house in El Valle de Anton, a beautiful town known for exotic wildlife, breathtaking treks, and fresh mountain air.
From Slate ● Mar. 30, 2026
Harmon frequently treks through the desert, wearing ankle braces and an orange safety vest, chatting with Border Patrol agents who appear to have taken to her.
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 1, 2026
Her treks across the forest weren’t easy by any means.
From "The Girl Who Drank the Moon" by Kelly Barnhill
But the whole experience has made me wary enough that now, whether I’ve trekked through nature or the concrete jungle, a quick tick check is a part of my nighttime routine.
From Slate ● Aug. 6, 2026
Brothers Sal and Daniello Cohen have trekked around the U.S. with Sal’s son to follow the Dutch team.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 28, 2026
Michele described carrying a binder with hundreds of pages of medical records and creating spreadsheets to track symptoms as they trekked from hospital to hospital, doctor to doctor, to get treatment for Aidan.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 27, 2026
While Bass and Raman trekked across the city during the primary, Pratt limited his public appearances mostly to the Westside and random encounters with supporters he posted on social media.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 10, 2026
We trekked all over Mica, past hundreds of grassless stone-and-cactus front yards, through the Tudorized shopping center, skirting the electronics business park around which the city had' been invented a mere fifteen years before.
From "Stargirl" by Jerry Spinelli
“Great American Road Trip” follows Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and his family as they celebrate the nation’s 250th anniversary by trekking across the country with cameras in tow.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 26, 2026
At least four hikers died in June while trekking through the Grand Canyon, state authorities reported in Arizona.
From BBC ● Aug. 25, 2026
When she moved to rural Alaska to work in a clinic, Higdon bought a few yaks in the town of North Pole and started a trekking business.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 8, 2026
Isak Andic died after falling more than 300 feet while trekking with his son in December 2024; police initially called it an accident.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 19, 2026
Most of the commuters heading back to Newark at this hour are exhausted housekeepers trekking back to their urban dwellings after a day in the wealthier suburbs.
From "Shelter (Book One): A Mickey Bolitar Novel" by Harlan Coben
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.
