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
-
a long and often difficult journey
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a journey or stage of a journey, esp a migration by ox wagon
verb
-
(intr) to make a trek
-
(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
-
trekssimple
-
have trekkedperfect
-
has trekkedperfect
-
am trekkingprogressive
-
are trekkingprogressive
-
is trekkingprogressive
-
have been trekkingperfect progressive
-
has been trekkingperfect progressive
Past
-
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:
Wilson pushed employees to complete the Grouse Grind, a 1.8-mile trek up Grouse Mountain near the company’s Vancouver headquarters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 13, 2026
But 583 foreigners remain unaccounted for, many of them pilgrims who had spent months preparing for the demanding trek around Mount Kailash.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
But in California, it’s a trek from one spot to another, so Holly spends time with her children at her ex’s home.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 3, 2026
Harris, who also had Irish citizenship, had set off on the trek around 05:40 local time on Saturday with a hiking companion.
From BBC ● Sep. 2, 2026
Roz calculated that the fastest way there was to trek over the glacier.
From "The Wild Robot Protects" by Peter Brown
After treks to downtown L.A.’s Fashion District to find just the right materials, she’ll mock up clever riffs on julienned ginger and cilantro leaves.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
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
White women were sprinkled throughout the crowd, many in the front row, their knee-length skirts sensibly accessorized with the practical footwear that could stand up to treks across the Langley campus.
From "Hidden Figures" by Margot Lee Shetterly
In 30C heat, I am finding it hard to keep up, with Karl showing no sign of fatigue, despite having trekked 10 miles before lunch.
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
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
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
The group trekked from northern Georgia—and by midafternoon on the day of their visit they had yet to go on a single ride.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 30, 2026
We trekked up the hill, our boots squishing in the muddy snow.
From "The Kite Runner" by Khaled Hosseini
This necessitates using canes, trekking poles and the occasional walker as well as taking a wheelchair to the airport gate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
A representative of the local trekking authority, the Annapurna Conservation Area Project, said some 700 trekkers were still waiting in Pokhara to embark on the Annapurna Circuit.
From BBC ● Sep. 30, 2026
The UN may also turn to Nepal's porters, accustomed to carrying heavy loads through some of the world's toughest mountain terrain during trekking and climbing expeditions.
From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026
Hiroshi Ota, a former missile-unit commander who now leads trekking tours on Amami-Oshima, wishes people in Japan would be more aware of the security risks the country faces.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
There is not much of the trip left, and so Dawn Celeste and Luke Messenger are now trekking alongside Grandpa Ed and Annabelle to the end.
From "A Heart in a Body in the World" by Deb Caletti
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
