Definition of excursion noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

excursion

noun

/ɪkˈskɜːʃn/

/ɪkˈskɜːrʒn/

a short journey made for pleasure, especially one that has been organized for a group of people
- on an excursion They've gone on an excursion to York.
- There are regular weekend excursions throughout the summer.
Synonyms trip
tripjourney ▪ tour ▪ expedition ▪ excursion ▪ outing ▪ day outThese are all words for an act of travelling to a place.
trip an act of travelling from one place to another, and usually back again:
a business trip
a five-minute trip by taxi
journey an act of travelling from one place to another, especially when they are a long way apart:
a long and difficult journey across the mountains
trip or journey?A trip usually involves you going to a place and back again; a journey is usually one-way. A trip is often shorter than a journey, although it does not have to be: a trip to New York • a round-the-world trip. It is often short in time, even if it is long in distance. Journey is more often used when the travelling takes a long time and is difficult. In North American English journey is not used for short trips (British English) Don't use the car for short journeys.
tour a journey made for pleasure during which several different places are visited:
a tour of Bavaria
expedition an organized journey with a particular purpose, especially to find out about a place that is not well known:
the first expedition to the South Pole
excursion a short trip made for pleasure, especially one that has been organized for a group of people:
We went on an all-day excursion to the island.
outing a short trip made for pleasure or education, usually with a group of people and lasting no more than a day:
The children were on a day’s outing from school.
day out a trip to somewhere for a day, especially for pleasure:
We had a day out at the beach.
Patterns
- a(n) foreign/overseas trip/journey/tour/expedition
- a bus/coach/train/rail trip/journey/tour
- to go on a(n) trip/journey/tour/expedition/excursion/outing/day out
- to set out/off on a(n) trip/journey/tour/expedition/excursion
- to make a(n) trip/journey/tour/expedition/excursion
Wordfinder
- commute
- departure
- destination
- excursion
- expedition
- itinerary
- journey
- pilgrimage
- safari
- travel
Extra Examples
- Our ship offers 13 different excursions.
- Princess Tours runs independent excursions from selected hotels.
- We decided to make an all-day excursion to the island.
- We signed up for a shore excursion to New Orleans.
- Optional excursions include a tour of the ancient city and a day's horse-riding.
Topics Holidaysb2
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- brief
- little
- short
- …
verb + excursion
- go on
- make
- take (somebody on)
- …
preposition
- excursion into
- excursion to
See full entry
excursion into something (formal) a short period of trying a new or different activity
- After a brief excursion into drama, he concentrated on his main interest, which was poetry.
- her first excursion into business
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
adjective
- brief
- little
- short
- …
verb + excursion
- go on
- make
- take (somebody on)
- …
preposition
- excursion into
- excursion to
See full entry

Word Originlate 16th cent. (in the sense ‘act of running out’), from Latin excursio(n-), from the verb excurrere ‘run out’, from ex- ‘out’ + currere ‘to run’.

See excursion in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

Check pronunciation: excursion

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adjective

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