journey
- 01 A2 Elementary
n.the act of travelling from one place to another, especially when it takes a long time.
n.an act of travelling from one point to another, typically implying a significant distance or duration.
Simple“The journey from London to Edinburgh takes about four and a half hours by train.”
In context“After a grueling three-day journey across the mountain pass, the weary explorers finally reached the coastal outpost.”
UsageOften used with the preposition 'to' for the destination and 'from' for the origin.
Teacher's tipLearners often confuse 'journey' (the travel itself) with 'travel' (the general activity) or 'trip' (the whole visit including the stay).
PitfallHow was your journey to the supermarket? How was your trip to the supermarket?Use 'journey' for long or difficult travel. For short, routine visits, 'trip' is more natural.
Synonyms - 02 B1 Intermediate
n.a process of changing or learning over a long period of time.
n.a metaphorical progression or series of stages in a person's life, career, or emotional development.
Simple“The book describes the author's spiritual journey after he moved to India.”
In context“The CEO spoke at length about the company's journey from a small garage startup to a global leader in renewable energy.”
Teacher's tipThis sense is extremely common in modern media, especially in reality TV and corporate storytelling.
Synonyms - 03 C1 Advanced
n.the series of steps a customer takes when using a website or buying a product.
n.the complete sum of experiences and interactions a customer has with a brand or system.
Simple“We need to simplify the customer journey on our website to increase sales.”
In context“Mapping the user journey allowed the developers to identify exactly where potential subscribers were abandoning the registration process.”
UsageCommonly appears in the compound 'customer journey'.
Synonyms - 04 B2 Upper Intermediate
v.to travel a long distance.
v.to undertake a journey; to travel over a significant distance.
Simple“They journeyed through the desert for weeks before finding an oasis.”
In context“The pilgrims journeyed southward, stopping at various shrines to pay their respects before reaching the holy city.”
UsageIntransitive verb; usually followed by a prepositional phrase of direction.
Teacher's tipAs a verb, this is much less common than 'travel' and sounds quite formal or poetic.
journey vs trip vs travel — Travel is the general activity, a journey is the movement from A to B, and a trip is the entire visit including the return.
Usage journey home
From Middle English journe, from Old French jornee, from Vulgar Latin *diurnāta, from Late Latin diurnum, from Latin diurnus, from diēs (“day”). Displaced native Old English fær and Old English faru.
Reborrowing from French journée (day's activities), originally an unadapted borrowing from French journée, from Old French jornee, from Vulgar Latin *diurnāta.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.