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Who led the first voyage around the globe?

voyage

American  
[voi-ij] / ˈvɔɪ ɪdʒ /

noun

  • voyages
    plural
  1. a course of travel or passage, especially a long journey by water to a distant place.

    Synonyms:
    cruise
  2. a passage through air or space, as a flight in an airplane or space vehicle.

  3. a journey or expedition from one place to another by land.

  4. Often voyages. journeys or travels as the subject of a written account, or the account itself.

    the voyages of Marco Polo.

  5. Obsolete. an enterprise or undertaking.


verb (used without object)

  • voyages,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • voyaged,
    past participle,  past
  • voyaging
    present participle
  1. to make or take a voyage; travel; journey.

verb (used with object)

  • voyages,
    present (3rd person singular)
  • voyaged,
    past participle,  past
  • voyaging
    present participle
  1. to traverse by a voyage.

    to voyage the seven seas.

voyage British  
/ ˈvɔɪɪdʒ /

noun

  1. a journey, travel, or passage, esp one to a distant land or by sea or air

  2. obsolete an ambitious project

"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

verb

  1. to travel over or traverse (something)

    we will voyage to Africa

"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
voyage Idioms  

Synonym Usage

See trip 1.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

Participles

Conjugated Forms

Present

Past

Future

Etymology

Origin of voyage

First recorded in 1250–1300; Middle English ve(i)age, viage, voyage, from Anglo-French, Old French, from Latin viāticum “travel-money”; see viaticum

Explanation

If someone tells you "bon voyage!" they mean have a good trip. Voyage means trip in French but in English, we use it to mean a long journey. Though voyage is usually used literally to mean a long and exciting journey or a trip that involves sailing such as a cruise, it can be used figuratively as well. Researching your family tree might become a voyage of self-discovery, taking you places you don't expect and teaching you more about yourself than you thought possible.

Keep Reading on Vocabulary.com

Vocabulary lists containing voyage

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 ship, the Marin Mainiku, on Monday arrived at the western side of the island, part of the nation of Kiribati, after a five-day voyage crossing 830-nautical-miles through the South Pacific.

From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2026

President Lee Jae Myung hailed the successful voyage, saying it "shortened the one-way sailing time by 10 days compared with the conventional route via the Suez Canal".

From Barron's ● Oct. 11, 2026

A new documentary is reviving the stirring if maddening voyage of the “Mighty Mary,” a groundbreaking America’s Cup crew undermined by one of the most baffling backroom deals in sports history.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

David McFarlane, a marine safety consultant, said the longer the voyage, the more risk of encountering hazardous sea conditions.

From BBC ● Sep. 29, 2026

The discovery of the historic document led to further research in Europe, Brazil, and Mozambique in search of facts about the São José and its ill-fated voyage.

From "Shipwrecked!" by Martin W. Sandler

The impact has spread worldwide, as longer voyages and shuttle runs around Hormuz tie up ships and push the daily rate of hiring oil tankers to records.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 21, 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

Scientists studying ancient human remains have frequently used evidence of congenital infection when debating whether syphilis was present outside the Americas before the voyages of Christopher Columbus.

From Science Daily ● Aug. 12, 2026

According to insurance broker Marsh, insurers are becoming increasingly reluctant to underwrite voyages through the region.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

The history of our past voyages of discovery suggests that Voyager and other spacecraft reconnaissance missions will revolutionize our knowledge of this place.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

Taking thousands of images and recording audio descriptions of the bleakly beautiful the lunar surface as it passed beneath them, the crew eventually voyaged 252,756 miles from Earth.

From BBC ● Apr. 11, 2026

At some point between 21,000 and 16,000 years ago, humans voyaged into the region, probably traveling along the coast.

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 16, 2023

When Shackleton and his men voyaged to Antarctica, they entered a frozen world.

From New York Times ● Mar. 30, 2022

We had voyaged 46 days from the winter solstice, and toward the brightness of spring.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 5, 2022

As do all of us who have voyaged through death, to life upon these shores.

From "Between the World and Me" by Ta-Nehisi Coates

So we get why Ross opts to normalize voyaging alone instead of speaking to common fears about it.

From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2025

Unsure what it would be like voyaging with so many youngsters, she booked a short four-day journey.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2024

After Charles Darwin happened across “vast rings of coral-rock” while voyaging through the southern Pacific Ocean on the Beagle, he wrote that upon seeing them, “everyone must be struck with astonishment.”

From Science Magazine ● Aug. 22, 2023

The news outlet noted that Justice Thomas has taken 38 destination vacations that included voyaging on a yacht, traveling via private jets and even helicopters.

From Washington Times ● Aug. 10, 2023

In the pampas of Argentina and Uruguay, the voyaging Charles Darwin discovered hundreds of square miles strangled by feral artichoke.

From "1491" by Charles C. Mann

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