trek

American  

[trek] / trɛk /

verb (used without object)

trekked, trekking

1. 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.

2. to hike long distances as a recreational activity, especially over rough terrain.

   He's trekked through the Himalayas and summited Mt. Kilimanjaro.

3. to make a short but difficult trip on foot.

   We trekked back to our hotel in the pouring rain.

4. South Africa. to travel by ox wagon.

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verb (used with object)

trekked, trekking

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

noun

1. a slow or difficult journey, hike, or trip.

2. South Africa.

   1. a migration or expedition, especially by ox wagon.

   2. a stage of such a journey, between one stopping place and the next.

trek British  

/ trɛk /

noun

1. a long and often difficult journey

2. a journey or stage of a journey, esp a migration by ox wagon

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verb

1. (intr) to make a trek

2. (tr) (of an ox, etc) to draw (a load)

Other Word Forms

• trekker noun
• untrekked adjective

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.

Example Sentences

Studio executives and theater operators chalk up the improved prospects to several factors, including a better and more plentiful crop of bankable movies that are giving consumers more reason to trek to the multiplex.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 13, 2026

Smoke’N Ash BBQ – A bit of a trek from downtown, but absolutely worth it.

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2026

Breakfast show host Greg is five days into an eight-day trek, travelling 1,000km through England, Wales and Scotland to his final destination in Edinburgh.

From BBC • Mar. 17, 2026

"Sweden has a good network of forest roads, but in Siberia, I hear it's a real trek, which is one reason why we're severely missing measurements from that region."

From Science Daily • Mar. 4, 2026

In his words, “One of the great tragedies of man’s long trek along the highway of history has been the limiting of neighborly concern to tribe, race, class or nation.”

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

Related Words

• hike
• migrate
• plod
• roam
• slog
• traipse
• tramp
• trudge