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.

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

Related Words for trekking

traipse, tramp, migrate, hike, trudge, plod, slog, roam, march, travel, walk, range, rove, foot

Examples from the Web for trekking

Contemporary Examples of trekking

Trekking at altitude is no easy feat, and each woman pushed herself harder than she thought possible.
Motherless Daughters and Parentless Parents Trek to the Andes to Aid Orphans
Allison Gilbert
August 21, 2014
This would be their home base while they spent around 10 days trekking through the jungle in search of the perfect new botanical.
When a Modern-Day Indiana Jones Met an Adventurous Gin Distiller
Ann Binlot
July 8, 2014
On dry land there were dozens of trekking outlets, each offering bike rides, hikes, and laundry service.
A Little Too Off the Beaten Path in Burma
Katya Cengel
June 2, 2014
A week later—and many more miles of trekking over mountains, across valleys, and through swamps—we found the ruins.
An Obsessive’s Search for a Lost Jungle City
Christopher S. Stewart
December 30, 2012

Historical Examples of trekking

So before noon we were again "trekking," and that, too, straight for the Potomac.
The Story of a Cannoneer Under Stonewall Jackson
Edward A. Moore
In ten minutes after, they were trekking to the south-east, en route for Port Natal.
The Giraffe Hunters
Mayne Reid
I shall have to do a lot of trekking in the wild, outlying parts.
The Rhodesian
Gertrude Page
When trekking from the old kraal, they had brought with them a small bag of maize.
The Bush Boys
Captain Mayne Reid
Or we watched a wandering tribe of Arabs trekking in the distance.
The Secrets of a Kuttite
Edward O. Mousley

British Dictionary definitions for trekking

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 trekking

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.