trek

[ trek ]

/ trɛk /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR trek ON THESAURUS.COM

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.

Nearby words

trehalose, treillage, treinta y tres, treitschke, treitschke, heinrich von, trekking, trek, great, trekker, trekkie, trelawney, trellis

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 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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST
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|DAILY BEAST

They were lost; or perhaps they had felt the urgent need of trekking from Zululand back to a more peaceful country.
Child of Storm|H. Rider Haggard
We had been in possession of our well-appointed hotel table only two days when a sudden order sent us all trekking once again.
With the Guards' Brigade from Bloemfontein to Koomati Poort and Back|Edward P. Lowry
Hitherto we had been lucky to have fine weather for trekking, but now it began to rain almost every day.
Q.6.a and Other places|Francis Buckley
On arrival at Wonderfontein it was found that trekking was for the time being, finished.
The Record of a Regiment of the Line|M. Jacson
The Boers had been observed from Ladysmith hastening away in a continuous stream, trekking North.
South Africa and the Boer-British War, Volume I|J. Castell Hopkins

British Dictionary definitions for trekking

trek

/ (trɛk) /

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.

trek

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

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

noun

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Nearby words

Origin of trek

Examples from the Web for trekking

British Dictionary definitions for trekking

trek

noun

verb treks, trekking or trekked

Word Origin for trek

Word Origin and History for trekking

trek