What does trip mean?
“Trip” is a highly versatile English word whose meanings range from ordinary travel to imbalance, mechanical activation, and altered states of consciousness. As a noun, it usually denotes a journey, often with the suggestion that the traveler is away from home or engaged in a short excursion. In phrases such as “take a trip” and “a business trip,” it is entirely neutral and appropriate in formal writing. It can also describe an accidental stumble or, more formally, a fault or error. As a verb, “trip” may mean to travel, to lose one's balance, or to activate a mechanism such as a circuit breaker or alarm. The informal sense of using a hallucinogenic drug involves both the experience itself and the altered mental state it produces. Because its core meanings can involve movement, disruption, and change of state, “trip” is a useful example of how context gives a compact word a surprisingly wide range of associations.
A journey or excursion, especially one away from home.
"Her trip to Rome lasted two weeks."
Also used for a journey made regularly, such as a business trip or school trip.
An act of stumbling or losing one's balance; by extension, an error or mistake.
"His trip on the stairs was caused by a misplaced rug."
The sense of a mistake is common in phrases such as “a tour guide's trip.”
An informal hallucinogenic experience or an episode of altered consciousness.
"The musicians described the concert as an incredible trip."
Informal; strongly associated with recreational drug culture, though it can also be used metaphorically.
To travel or make a journey; to stumble or lose one's balance.
"We tripped through the old town and stopped for coffee."
“Trip” meaning to travel is common in British and American informal usage.
The plural “trips” is used for multiple journeys or excursions.
"She took several trips to the mountains last year."
One word can mean a journey, a stumble on the stairs, or a surreal mental excursion.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does trip come from?
The word has Old English roots: Old English “trippian” meant to stumble or move jerkily. The noun developed meanings connected with a journey, a stumble, and later an experience or episode, while the verb also came to refer to causing a mechanism to operate. The English word belongs to a Germanic family of forms associated with stumbling or bustling movement, and modern derivatives include “tripper,” “tripwire,” and the informal adjective “trippy.”
Related word forms
How trip is actually used
“Trip” is neutral and common for a journey in formal and informal contexts. “Trip” in the sense of a hallucinogenic experience is informal, while “trip” or “trip up” can also mean to activate a protective mechanism.