traverse
truh-VURSS
/trəˈvɝːs/
To travel across or through an expanse, terrain, or obstacle.
Focuses on the effortful physical act of crossing over challenging physical barriers or long distances.
The story behind the word. Passed from Latin transversare ('to cross over') into Old French as traverser, and then into Middle English. The core idea is turning or laying something across a path.
Word relationships
- cross: Cross is simple and general; traverse implies navigating complex or difficult ground.
- navigate: Navigate emphasizes steering or planning a route, while traverse emphasizes the actual physical movement across.
- remain: To stay in place without moving across.
Commonly confused with
- transcend: Transcend means to go beyond limits or rise above mentally; traverse means physically moving across terrain.
Word family
- traversal (noun): The act of passing across or through something.
Collocations
- traverse the terrain
- traverse a ridge
- traverse the desert
- safely traverse
Example sentences
- "The climbers had to traverse a steep ice field before reaching the summit ridge." Mountaineering
Memory hook
TRANS (across) + REVERSE = turn and march TRAVERSE across the land. Traverse = cross complex terrain.
When not to use
Do not use for short casual walks inside a building; use cross or walk through.
Fun facts
- In mountaineering, a 'traverse' also refers to moving sideways across a cliff face rather than going straight up.
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