voyage
VOY-ij
/ˈvɔɪɪdʒ/
A long journey involving travel by sea or in space.
Implies a grand, historic, or highly significant journey over a vast distance, usually by water or space, rather than land.
The story behind the word. From the Latin 'viaticum', which referred to the money or provisions given to a traveler, derived from 'via' (way, road). In Old French, this became 'veiage', which English adopted to describe long journeys, particularly by sea.
Word relationships
- journey: A journey can be over land, while a voyage is almost exclusively over water or through space.
- expedition: An expedition is a journey with a specific scientific or military purpose, while a voyage is defined by the mode of travel.
Commonly confused with
- trip: A trip is a general, often short journey, while a voyage is long, grand, and epic.
Word family
- voyager (noun): A person who goes on a long journey.
Collocations
- maiden voyage
- ocean voyage
- space voyage
- long voyage
Idioms & expressions
- bon voyage
Example sentences
- "The spacecraft embarked on a historic voyage to explore the outer planets of the solar system." Space exploration
- "The captain kept a detailed logbook during the long voyage across the Atlantic." Historical maritime travel
Memory hook
A voyage is a very long journey over the water or through the void of space. Voyage is a grand journey on water or space.
When not to use
Do not use for routine, short, or mundane trips like a daily commute.
Fun facts
- NASA's Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecraft, launched in 1977, are the farthest human-made objects from Earth, currently traveling through interstellar space.
Explore more words
Also appears in
Take your vocabulary further with LangBlitz
Our English vocabulary app: FSRS spaced repetition, 5,000+ curated words across 119 topic groups, CEFR A1 to C2. Explore your mastery with the beautiful Vocabulary World feature.