Meaning & use
unannounced visit
Last updated
Meaning
nouncountable
A visit made to a person or place without telling them in advance.
Grammar: Countable: say 'an unannounced visit' or 'unannounced visits'.
Patterns
- make an unannounced visit to someone
- pay someone an unannounced visit
The manager made an unannounced visit to the factory to check safety conditions.
My aunt paid us an unannounced visit on Sunday morning, so we had to tidy up quickly.
Health inspectors carry out unannounced visits to restaurants several times a year.
Word forms
| plural | unannounced visits |
|---|
Common combinations
- make an unannounced visit
- The principal made an unannounced visit to the classroom.
- pay someone an unannounced visit
- They paid their neighbors an unannounced visit after the storm.
- an unannounced visit from someone
- We had an unannounced visit from the tax office.
- carry out unannounced visits
- The agency carries out unannounced visits to care homes.
Synonyms and how they differ
- surprise visit
- Usually friendly and personal; 'unannounced visit' is more neutral or official.
- spot check
- A quick official inspection, not a social visit; it focuses on checking something.
Opposites
Word family
- unannounced adjective
- Not told to anyone in advance: an unannounced arrival.
Commonly confused: unannounced visit or uninvited?
unannounced visit vs uninvited
Means you were not invited, while 'unannounced' means you did not tell someone you were coming. You can be invited but still arrive unannounced.
Practice
The director made an unannounced ______ to the branch office.
Choose one answer.
After 'made an unannounced', we need the singular noun 'visit'. 'Visiting' would need a different structure, and 'visits' is plural, which does not fit 'an'.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “unannounced visit”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.