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definitions

trek

[trek]
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verb (used without object), trekked, trek·king.

to travel or migrate, especially slowly or with difficulty.
South Africa. to travel by ox wagon.

verb (used with object), trekked, trek·king.

South Africa. (of a draft animal) to draw (a vehicle or load).

noun

a journey or trip, especially one involving difficulty or hardship.
South Africa. a migration or expedition, as by ox wagon.
South Africa. a stage of a journey, especially by ox wagon, between one stopping place and the next.

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RELATED WORDS

hike, trip, odyssey, expedition, traipse, tramp, migrate, trudge, plod, slog, roam, peregrination, march, travel, footslog, hegira, walk, range, rove, foot

Origin of trek

1815–25; < Afrikaans < Dutch trek (noun), trekken (v.) to draw (a vehicle or load), migrate
Related formsun·trekked, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for trek

Contemporary Examples of trek

Historical Examples of trek

  • But you see, sir, our time is up, and we have determined not to go on the trek any more.

    On the Heels of De Wet

    The Intelligence Officer

  • Two others, that women had been confined while on the trek in wagons.

    The War in South Africa

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • They were to trek a little after dawn, and already Robert and Benita were up and waiting.

  • Our own people are with them, and show them how to trek in the night, and where the footpaths are.

  • To meet him and his family on trek is to glimpse an epitome of his life.

    Pan-Islam

    George Wyman Bury

British Dictionary definitions for trek

trek

noun

a long and often difficult journey
Southern African a journey or stage of a journey, esp a migration by ox wagon

verb treks, trekking or trekked

(intr) to make a trek
(tr) Southern African (of an ox, etc) to draw (a load)
Derived Formstrekker, noun

Word Origin for trek

C19: from Afrikaans, from Middle Dutch trekken to travel; related to Old Frisian trekka
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for trek

1849 (n.); 1850 (v.), "to travel or migrate by ox wagon," from Afrikaans trek, from Dutch trekken "to march, journey," originally "to draw, pull," from Middle Dutch trecken (cf. Middle Low German trecken, Old High German trechan "to draw"). Especially in reference to the Groot Trek (1835 and after) of more than 10,000 Boers, who, discontent with the English colonial authorities, left Cape Colony and went north and north-east.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper