Traverse
verb /trəˈvɜːrs/ — To travel across or through a large area.
Definition
To travel or move across, through, or over something — especially something large, difficult, or demanding. In mountaineering, a traverse moves horizontally across a slope. More broadly, any journey across a significant expanse.
Beyond the definition
To traverse is to make the crossing — not just to arrive but to move through everything between here and there, to cross the whole terrain.
Origin & history
From Old French 'traverser' (to cross, to pass through); from Late Latin 'transversare'. Used both literally (geography) and figuratively (emotion, argument).
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
The climbers chose to traverse the ridge rather than descend — three horizontal miles above the cloud.
She had traversed most of the country by train, looking out at the texture of what she had only known as a name on a map.
The novel traverses four decades in two hundred pages — time compressed into experience.
How to use it
This entry uses a verb. Follow the examples for tense and any objects or prepositions it needs.
Choose “Traverse” when the meaning fits your context: To travel or move across, through, or over something — especially something large, difficult, or demanding. In mountaineering, a traverse moves horizontally across a slope. More broadly, any journey across a significant expanse.
Synonyms
cross, journey through, pass over, cover
Antonyms
stop, stay, remain
Related words
Traverse vs circumnavigate
To traverse is to cross a space from one side to another. To circumnavigate is specifically to travel all the way around something, like an island.
Questions about this word
What does "Traverse" mean?
Traverse is verb meaning: To travel across or through a large area.. To travel or move across, through, or over something — especially something large, difficult, or demanding. In mountaineering, a traverse moves horizontally across a slope. More broadly, any journey across a significant expanse.
Where does the word "Traverse" come from?
From Old French 'traverser' (to cross, to pass through); from Late Latin 'transversare'. Used both literally (geography) and figuratively (emotion, argument).