visit
Americanverb (used with object)
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visits,
present (3rd person singular)
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visited,
past participle, past
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visiting
present participle
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to go to and stay with (a person or family) or at (a place) for a short time for reasons of sociability, politeness, business, curiosity, etc..
to visit a friend; to visit clients; to visit Paris.
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to stay with as a guest.
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to come or go to.
to visit a church for prayer.
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to go to for the purpose of official inspection or examination.
a general visiting his troops.
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to come to in order to comfort or aid.
to visit the sick.
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to come upon; assail; afflict.
The plague visited London in 1665.
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to cause trouble, suffering, etc., to come to.
to visit him with sorrows.
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to access, as a website.
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to inflict, as punishment, vengeance, etc. (often followed by on orupon ).
verb (used without object)
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visits,
present (3rd person singular)
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visited,
past participle, past
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visiting
present participle
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to make a visit.
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to talk or chat casually.
to visit on the phone with a friend.
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to inflict punishment.
noun
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visits
plural
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the act of or an instance of visiting.
a nice, long visit.
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a chat or talk.
We had a good visit on the way back from the grocery store.
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a call paid to a person, family, etc.
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a stay or sojourn as a guest.
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an official inspection or examination.
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the act of an officer of a belligerent nation in boarding a vessel in order to ascertain the nature of its cargo, its nationality, etc..
the right of visit and search.
verb
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to go or come to see (a person, place, etc)
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to stay with (someone) as a guest
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to go or come to (an institution, place, etc) for the purpose of inspecting or examining
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(tr) (of a disease, disaster, etc) to assail; afflict
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(tr; foll by upon or on) to inflict (punishment, etc)
the judge visited his full anger upon the defendant
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archaic to afflict or plague (with punishment, etc)
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informal (often foll by with) to chat or converse (with someone)
noun
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the act or an instance of visiting
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a stay as a guest
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a professional or official call
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a formal call for the purpose of inspection or examination
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international law the right of an officer of a belligerent state to stop and search neutral ships in war to verify their nationality and ascertain whether they carry contraband
the right of visit and search
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informal a friendly talk or chat
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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previsitnoun
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revisitverb
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intervisitverb (used without object)
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nonvisitingadjective
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unvisitedadjective
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unvisitingadjective
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visitableadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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visitsimple
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visitssimple
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have visitedperfect
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has visitedperfect
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am visitingprogressive
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are visitingprogressive
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is visitingprogressive
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have been visitingperfect progressive
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has been visitingperfect progressive
Past
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visitedsimple
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had visitedperfect
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was visitingprogressive
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were visitingprogressive
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had been visitingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of visit
First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English visiten (verb), from Old French visiter, from Latin vīsitāre “to see repeatedly,” from vīsere “to go to see,” from vidēre “to see”; noun derivative of the verb
Explanation
When you travel to another place, or spend some time at a friend's house, it's a visit. You should visit your grandmother! It's been a while since she's had a visit from you. Whenever you spend a temporary amount of time with another person or in another place, that's a visit — whether it's your visit to San Francisco or your visit to the doctor for a checkup. In some parts of the U.S., visit is also a name for a chat: "I had a nice visit with your Aunt Sylvia yesterday." And if you pay a visit to someone, you go see them for a while.
Vocabulary lists containing visit
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:
The Duffys also visit the Free States of Taylor Sheridania, aka Wyoming and Montana, in an episode where their young son, Patrick, is taken to the hospital after suffering abdominal pain.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
"Because the crowns can be custom-printed for each patient on the same day, this approach offers greater personalization, faster treatment and the convenience of receiving a permanent restoration in a single visit."
From Science Daily ● Aug. 23, 2026
The Natural History Museum in South Kensington is free to visit and open seven days a week.
From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026
"Such a privilege to be racing here. Spectacular place," said Palou, who made a White House visit earlier this week.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
That February, he is back in San Francisco for a visit.
From "Phineas Gage" by John Fleischman
He says he made several visits to A&E during attacks, to the point he was known on a first-name basis.
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
Chinese online travel platforms have reported surging visits to temples in recent years, largely driven by young people.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 23, 2026
Instead of billing insurance for routine office visits, they’re charging patients directly through a monthly or annual membership fee, a model known as direct primary care, or DPC.
From Slate ● Aug. 22, 2026
Leo has taken no long voyages this summer, instead venturing to Pavia, Lampedusa and Assisi for short visits.
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
To provide an official reason for his visits to Haarlem, he started conducting a weekly prayer fellowship at the Beje each Wednesday morning.
From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom
Fuller said she and her deputy chief constable visited the officers' families to "offer our condolences, support one another, and begin to come to terms with this unimaginable loss".
From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026
At the risk of dating myself even more than I already have, I had a few websites that I visited daily from the family room of my suburban home.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
One of the Pacific Coast owners, Belgian-Pakistani investor Alshair Fiyaz, visited Venezuela earlier this year, as did Santa Barbara-based Hasbo.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 21, 2026
India's foreign ministry said consular officials had visited Pant "to enquire about his wellbeing".
From Barron's ● Aug. 21, 2026
For all the times Uncle Jack visited us or met our family for dinner, we never actually went to his home.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
They spend plenty of time visiting the “Real World: Boston” house where Duffy reconnects with his erstwhile housemate, Montana McGlynn, and next to none discussing Boston’s pivotal role in igniting the American Revolution.
From Salon ● Aug. 23, 2026
Issa was detained on 8 August after visiting the Syrian embassy in Beirut to complete paperwork and was transferred into Syrian custody on Wednesday.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
Victoria, a 36-year-old genealogist, was visiting the market for the first time.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
The forward exploited a gap in the visiting defense and fired a shot across the goal from the left that sailed just over the top left corner.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 20, 2026
Nor had she ever stopped to wonder if anyone was in the habit of visiting the gravesite, and perhaps leaving flowers.
From "The Hidden Gallery" by Maryrose Wood
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
