trip

Meanings

1. 1
   noun

   an unintentional but embarrassing blunder

   They recited the whole poem without a single trip.

2. 2
   noun

   a light or nimble tread

   They heard the trip of smaller people's feet overhead.

3. 3
   noun

   a journey for some purpose

   We took a trip to the shopping center.

4. 4
   noun

   a catch mechanism that acts as a switch

   the pressure activates the tripper and releases the water

5. 5
   noun

   a hallucinatory experience induced by drugs

   an acid trip

6. 6
   verb

   get high, stoned, or drugged

   They trip every weekend.

7. 7
   verb

   cause to stumble

   The questions on the test tripped us up.

8. 8
   noun

   A journey; an excursion or jaunt.

   We made a trip to the beach.

Etymology

From Middle English trippen (“tread or step lightly and nimbly, skip, dance”), perhaps from Old French triper (“to hop or dance around, strike with the feet”), from a Frankish source; or alternatively from Middle Dutch trippen (“to skip, trip, hop, stamp, trample”) (> Modern Dutch trippelen (“to toddle, patter, trip”)). Akin to Middle Low German trippen ( > Danish trippe (“to trip”), Swedish trippa (“to mince, trip”)), West Frisian tripje (“to toddle, trip”), German trippeln (“to scurry”), Old English treppan (“to trample, tread”). Related also to trap, tramp.