trek

[trek]

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.

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

/ trɛk /

noun

1. a long and often difficult journey

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

verb

1. (intr) to make a trek

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

Other Word Forms

• untrekked adjective
• trekker noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of trek¹

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of trek¹

C19: from Afrikaans, from Middle Dutch trekken to travel; related to Old Frisian trekka

Example Sentences

They started their Amtrak trek in Burlington, Vt., on Saturday, enjoying a holiday parade in Schenectady, N.Y., and renting e-bikes in Chicago before we all boarded the California Zephyr Sunday afternoon.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

If their two 13.5-kilowatt batteries, charged by rooftop panels, begin to drop near 20% capacity, they trek down a gravel path to the corner of their front yard and switch on a massive generator.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

So it was bittersweet to this fiercely ambitious author that writing fame arrived with “The Snow Leopard,” his 1978 chronicle of a two-month trek to the Tibetan Plateau of the Himalayas.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he accompanied David Woodman and other searchers on their treks.

Read more on Literature

One of the Dodgers’ primary challenges will be managing the returning talent — and ensuring the toll from their previous two title treks doesn’t become a roadblock.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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