Meaning & use
trip
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Meanings
nouncountable
A journey to a place and usually back again, made for a reason such as a visit or errand.
Grammar: Takes a/an: a trip to the coast, three trips.
Patterns
- a trip to somewhere
- a trip for something
We took a trip to the mountains last weekend.
The class went on a school trip to the science museum.
I made two trips to the store to carry all the groceries.
verbintransitive
To catch your foot on something and stumble or fall.
Grammar: Often trip over something: trip over a rug.
Patterns
- trip over something
- trip on something
She tripped over a toy and dropped the tray.
Be careful not to trip on the loose cable.
He tripped on the top step and grabbed the rail.
verbtransitive
To make someone stumble by catching their foot, or to start something such as a switch by touching it.
Grammar: Takes an object: trip someone, trip the alarm.
Patterns
- trip someone up
- trip the alarm
The defender tripped the striker inside the box.
A cat walking past tripped the alarm.
The surge tripped the circuit breaker.
nouncountable
A stumble caused by catching your foot on something.
Grammar: Used with a: a trip on the stairs.
Patterns
- a trip on something
A quick trip on the curb left him with a sore knee.
Her trip on the loose rug made everyone gasp.
Word forms
| plural | trips |
|---|---|
| third person singular | trips |
| past tense | tripped |
| past participle | tripped |
| -ing form | tripping |
Common combinations
- business trip
- He is away on a business trip until Friday.
- round trip
- A round trip ticket costs less than two single ones.
- road trip
- We planned a road trip along the coast.
- trip over
- Don't trip over the dog's bowl.
- day trip
- They took a day trip to the lake.
- trip up
- A tricky question tripped up the contestant.
Synonyms and how they differ
- journey
- A journey emphasizes the whole travel, often long, while a trip is usually shorter and has a purpose.
- excursion
- An excursion is a short outing for pleasure, often in a group, while trip is more general.
- stumble
- Stumble means to lose balance for any reason, whereas trip means catching your foot on something.
Word family
Commonly confused: trip or travel?
trip vs travel
Travel is the general activity or verb of going places, while a trip is one single journey.
Practice
I nearly ___ over the suitcase that someone left in the hallway.
Choose one answer.
Trip over means to stumble by catching your foot on something. Trapped does not take over and means caught, so it fails.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “trip”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.