trek

1 of 2

verb

trekked; trekking

intransitive verb

1
: to make one's way arduously
broadly : journey
2
chiefly South Africa
a
: to travel by ox wagon
b
: to migrate by ox wagon or in a train of such
trekker noun

trek

2 of 2

noun

1
: a trip or movement especially when involving difficulties or complex organization : an arduous journey
2
chiefly South Africa : a journey by ox wagon
especially : an organized migration by a group of settlers

Examples of trek in a Sentence

Verb We had to trek up six flights of stairs with our groceries. On their vacation last year they went trekking in the Himalayas. We trekked across the country in her old car. Noun Our car broke down and we had a long trek back to town. a trek across the country
Recent Examples on the Web
Verb
People-watching can be a welcome distraction while trekking around the city on public transportation. Françoise Mouly, The New Yorker, 18 Mar. 2024 Little illustrated that discord better than the sparse attendance at the retreat: Fewer than 100 of the House’s 219 Republican members trekked out to the historic, luxury Greenbrier resort in West Virginia. Ken Tran, USA TODAY, 15 Mar. 2024 Santander trekked for two months with his family, including two young children, from Venezuela to the Texas border last fall to seek asylum. Meryl Kornfield, Washington Post, 27 Feb. 2024 Alarmed by the long delay, a bipartisan delegation of United States senators trekked to Budapest, the Hungarian capital, earlier this month to show that Hungary was being taken seriously. Andrew Higgins, New York Times, 27 Feb. 2024 The Walking Dead spinoff The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon Norman Reedus reprises his role from The Walking Dead in The Walking Dead: Daryl Dixon, which sees his titular crossbow-wielding character trekking through France. Jessica Sager, Peoplemag, 25 Feb. 2024 Logistics are a headache in some places — officials have gone by horseback, taken boats, flown by helicopter and trekked for hours to bring ballots to voters. Sui-Lee Wee, New York Times, 12 Feb. 2024 But not everyone can trek to the East Bay for this hands-on, immersive smell experience. Katie Lauer, The Mercury News, 9 Feb. 2024 So my enterprising colleague John Wilkerson trekked up to Wilmington to give you an inside view on how a key judge viewed arguments in the first court test of the new Medicare drug price negotiation program. Rachel Cohrs Reprints, STAT, 1 Feb. 2024
Noun
With just three dates left on the itinerary, Live Nation, producer of her latest epic trek Down Under, reveals nearly one million tickets have changed hands – a volume that’s by far the biggest for any female headliner to have toured ANZ. Lars Brandle, Billboard, 19 Mar. 2024 In a much more notable development Monday, however, manager Dave Roberts said the two-way talent will begin a throwing program once the club returns from its trans-Pacific trek — the latest significant step in Ohtani’s long road back to the mound following last September’s Tommy John surgery. Houston Mitchell, Los Angeles Times, 19 Mar. 2024 Tour in May, a headlining trek that runs through July and features Kip Moore, Travis Denning, Ella Langley, and Stephen Wilson Jr. on select dates. Joseph Hudak, Rolling Stone, 18 Mar. 2024 Ide and her family maintain a metro Phoenix homebase and Ide makes the trek south for months at a time. Georgann Yara, The Arizona Republic, 18 Mar. 2024 Our scheduled trek that day was along the rim of the Aksu Canyon, a 20-mile drive from Ruslan’s guesthouse. Paul Tough, New York Times, 17 Mar. 2024 But just how accurate is the movie (in theaters now), inspired by an adventure racer (portrayed by Wahlberg) who comes across a shaggy mutt during a brutal championship trek? Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 16 Mar. 2024 Accompanying the awe-inspiring seasonal blooms will be the inevitable surge of travelers taking advantage of this annual spectacle, as droves of tourists trek to festivals, national parks, forests, and towns renowned for their bursts of springtime medleys. Krista Simmons and J.d. Simkins, Sunset Magazine, 8 Mar. 2024 The 44-stop trek kicks off on April 28 with a show in Dublin and concludes on Dec. 7 with a two-night stint in Nashville. Brianna Taylor, Sacramento Bee, 5 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'trek.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Afrikaans, from Dutch trecken to pull, haul, migrate; akin to Old High German trechan to pull

Noun

Afrikaans, from Dutch treck pull, haul, from trecken

First Known Use

Verb

1835, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Noun

1849, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of trek was in 1835

Dictionary Entries Near trek

Cite this Entry

“Trek.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/trek. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

trek

1 of 2 verb
trekked; trekking
1
chiefly South African : to travel or migrate by ox wagon or in a train of such wagons
2
: to make one's way slowly and painfully
trekker noun

trek

2 of 2 noun
1
chiefly South African : an organized journey or migration of a group of settlers traveling by ox wagon
2
: a slow or difficult journey
Etymology

Verb

from Afrikaans trek, "to travel by ox wagon," from Dutch trecken "to haul, pull"

More from Merriam-Webster on trek

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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