Trip vs. Tour — What's the Difference?
Edited by Tayyaba Rehman — By Fiza Rafique — Updated on September 26, 2023
Trip is journey or excursion, often for leisure, business, or a specific purpose, involving travel from one place to another. Tour a planned journey or expedition, typically guided and organized, often for sightseeing, exploration, or educational purpose.
Difference Between Trip and Tour
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Key Differences
Trip: A general term referring to a journey or travel experience, which can vary in purpose, duration, and organization. Tour: A specific type of trip that is usually planned, guided, and organized, often for sightseeing or educational purposes.
Trip: Can have various purposes, including leisure, business, family visits, or personal reasons. Tour: Typically organized for specific purposes such as sightseeing, exploration, cultural immersion, or educational experiences.
Trip: Can have a flexible or open itinerary, allowing for spontaneous choices and activities. Tour: Typically follows a pre-arranged itinerary with scheduled stops and activities.
Compare with Definitions
Trip
A journey from one place to another, often for a specific purpose.
We took a road trip to the beach for the weekend.
Tour
A series of scheduled visits or performances in various locations.
The band is on a world tour, performing in multiple cities.
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Trip
A stumble or loss of balance resulting in a fall.
She had a trip and fell on the uneven sidewalk.
Tour
A trip with visits to various places of interest for business, pleasure, or instruction.
Trip
A going from one place to another; a journey.
Tour
A group organized for such a trip or for a shorter sightseeing excursion.
Trip
A stumble or fall.
Tour
A brief trip to or through a place for the purpose of seeing it
A tour of the house.
Trip
A maneuver causing someone to stumble or fall.
Tour
A journey to fulfill a round of engagements in several places
A pianist on a concert tour.
Trip
A mistake.
Tour
A shift, as in a factory.
Trip
A hallucinatory experience induced by a psychedelic drug
An acid trip.
Tour
A period of duty at a single place or job.
Trip
An intense, stimulating, or exciting experience
A power trip.
Tour
(Sports) A series of professional tournaments, as in golf.
Trip
A usually temporary but absorbing interest or preoccupation
He's on another health food trip.
Tour
To travel from place to place, especially for pleasure.
Trip
A certain way of life or situation
"deny that his reclusiveness is some sort of deliberate star trip" (Patricia Bosworth).
Tour
To travel among various places while fulfilling engagements.
Trip
A light or nimble tread.
Tour
To make a tour of
Toured Europe last summer.
Officials touring the scene of the disaster.
Trip
A device, such as a pawl, for triggering a mechanism.
Tour
To present (a play, for example) on a tour.
Trip
The action of such a device.
Tour
A journey through a particular building, estate, country, etc.
On our last holiday to Spain we took a tour of the wine-growing regions.
Trip
To stumble.
Tour
A guided visit to a particular place, or virtual place.
On the company's website, you can take a virtual tour of the headquarters.
Trip
To move nimbly with light rapid steps; skip.
Tour
A journey through a given list of places, such as by an entertainer performing concerts.
Metallica's tour of Europe
Trip
To be released, as a tooth on an escapement wheel in a watch.
Tour
A trip taken to another country in which several matches are played.
Trip
To make a trip.
Tour
A street and road race, frequently multiday.
Trip
To make a mistake
Tripped up on the last question.
Tour
(sports) A set of competitions which make up a championship.
Trip
(Slang) To have a drug-induced hallucination.
Tour
(military) A tour of duty.
Trip
To cause to stumble or fall.
Tour
(graph theory) A closed trail.
Trip
To trap or catch in an error or inconsistency.
Tour
(obsolete) A going round; a circuit.
Trip
To release (a catch, trigger, or switch), thereby setting something in operation.
Tour
(obsolete) A turn; a revolution.
The tours of the heavenly bodies
Trip
To raise (an anchor) from the bottom.
Tour
(snooker) A circuit of snooker tournaments
Trip
To tip or turn (a yardarm) into a position for lowering.
Tour
(dated) A tower.
Trip
To lift (an upper mast) in order to remove the fid before lowering.
Tour
(intransitive) To make a journey
The Rolling Stones were still touring when they were in their seventies.
Trip
A journey; an excursion or jaunt.
We made a trip to the beach.
Tour
(transitive) To make a circuit of a place
The circuses have been touring Europe for the last few weeks.
Trip
A stumble or misstep.
He was injured due to a trip down the stairs.
Tour
To toot a horn.
Trip
An error; a failure; a mistake.
Tour
A tower.
Trip
(colloquial) A period of time in which one experiences drug-induced reverie or hallucinations.
He had a strange trip after taking LSD.
Tour
A going round; a circuit; hence, a journey in a circuit; a prolonged circuitous journey; a comprehensive excursion; as, the tour of Europe; the tour of France or England.
The bird of Jove stooped from his airy tour.
Trip
(by extension) Intense involvement in or enjoyment of a condition.
Ego trip
Power trip
Nostalgia trip
Guilt trip
Tour
A turn; a revolution; as, the tours of the heavenly bodies.
Trip
A faux pas, a social error.
Tour
Anything done successively, or by regular order; a turn; as, a tour of duty.
Trip
(engineering) A mechanical cutout device.
Tour
To make a tourm; as, to tour throught a country.
Trip
(electricity) A trip-switch or cut-out.
It's dark because the trip operated.
Tour
A journey or route all the way around a particular place or area;
They took an extended tour of Europe
We took a quick circuit of the park
A ten-day coach circuit of the island
Trip
A quick, light step; a lively movement of the feet; a skip.
Trip the light fantastic
Tour
A time for working (after which you will be relieved by someone else);
It's my go
A spell of work
Trip
(obsolete) A small piece; a morsel; a bit.
Tour
A period of time spent in military service
Trip
The act of tripping someone, or causing them to lose their footing.
Tour
Make a tour of a certain place;
We toured the Provence this summer
Trip
(nautical) A single board, or tack, in plying, or beating, to windward.
Tour
A guided journey or expedition, often for sightseeing and exploration.
We joined a guided tour of the historic city to learn about its landmarks.
Trip
A herd or flock of sheep, goats, etc.
Tour
To travel and visit different places or locations.
They decided to tour Europe to experience its diverse cultures.
Trip
(obsolete) A troop of men; a host.
Tour
A guided visit to a facility or establishment, such as a museum or factory.
The school organized a tour of the local science museum for students.
Trip
A flock of wigeons.
Tour
A period of duty or work in a specific location, often for performers or athletes.
The actor's Broadway tour lasted for six months.
Trip
(intransitive) To fall over or stumble over an object as a result of striking it with one's foot
Be careful not to trip on the tree roots.
Trip
To cause (a person or animal) to fall or stumble by knocking their feet from under them.
A pedestrian was able to trip the burglar as he was running away.
Trip
(intransitive) To be guilty of a misstep or mistake; to commit an offence against morality, propriety, etc
Trip
To detect in a misstep; to catch; to convict.
Trip
(transitive) To activate or set in motion, as in the activation of a trap, explosive, or switch.
When we get into the factory, trip the lights.
Trip
(intransitive) To be activated, as by a signal or an event
The alarm system tripped, throwing everyone into a panic.
Trip
(intransitive) To experience a state of reverie or to hallucinate, due to consuming psychoactive drugs.
After taking the LSD, I started tripping about fairies and colors.
Trip
(intransitive) To journey, to make a trip.
Last summer, we tripped to the coast.
Trip
To move with light, quick steps; to walk or move lightly; to skip.
Trip
(nautical) To raise (an anchor) from the bottom, by its cable or buoy rope, so that it hangs free.
Trip
(nautical) To pull (a yard) into a perpendicular position for lowering it.
Trip
To become unreasonably upset, especially over something unimportant; to cause a scene or a disruption.
Trip
(poker slang) Of or relating to trips three of a kind.
Trip
To move with light, quick steps; to walk or move lightly; to skip; to move the feet nimbly; - sometimes followed by it. See It, 5.
This horse anon began to trip and dance.
Come, and trip it, as you go,On the light fantastic toe.
She bounded by, and tripped so lightThey had not time to take a steady sight.
Trip
To make a brief journey or pleasure excursion; as, to trip to Europe.
Trip
To take a quick step, as when in danger of losing one's balance; hence, to make a false step; to catch the foot; to lose footing; to stumble.
Trip
Fig.: To be guilty of a misstep; to commit an offense against morality, propriety, or rule; to err; to mistake; to fail.
A blind will thereupon comes to be led by a blind understanding; there is no remedy, but it must trip and stumble.
Virgil is so exact in every word that none can be changed but for a worse; he pretends sometimes to trip, but it is to make you think him in danger when most secure.
What? dost thou verily trip upon a word?
Trip
To cause to stumble, or take a false step; to cause to lose the footing, by striking the feet from under; to cause to fall; to throw off the balance; to supplant; - often followed by up; as, to trip up a man in wrestling.
The words of Hobbes's defense trip up the heels of his cause.
Trip
To overthrow by depriving of support; to put an obstacle in the way of; to obstruct; to cause to fail.
To trip the course of law, and blunt the sword.
Trip
To detect in a misstep; to catch; to convict; also called trip up.
These her women can trip me if I err.
Trip
To raise (an anchor) from the bottom, by its cable or buoy rope, so that it hangs free.
Trip
To release, let fall, or set free, as a weight or compressed spring, as by removing a latch or detent; to activate by moving a release mechanism, often unintentionally; as, to trip an alarm.
Trip
A quick, light step; a lively movement of the feet; a skip.
His heart bounded as he sometimes could hear the trip of a light female step glide to or from the door.
Trip
A brief or rapid journey; an excursion or jaunt.
I took a trip to London on the death of the queen.
Trip
A false step; a stumble; a misstep; a loss of footing or balance. Fig.: An error; a failure; a mistake.
Imperfect words, with childish trips.
Each seeming trip, and each digressive start.
Trip
A small piece; a morsel; a bit.
Trip
A stroke, or catch, by which a wrestler causes his antagonist to lose footing.
And watches with a trip his foe to foil.
It is the sudden trip in wrestling that fetches a man to the ground.
Trip
A single board, or tack, in plying, or beating, to windward.
Trip
A herd or flock, as of sheep, goats, etc.
Trip
A troop of men; a host.
Trip
A flock of widgeons.
Trip
A journey for some purpose (usually including the return);
He took a trip to the shopping center
Trip
A hallucinatory experience induced by drugs;
An acid trip
Trip
An accidental misstep threatening (or causing) a fall;
He blamed his slip on the ice
The jolt caused many slips and a few spills
Trip
An exciting or stimulting experience
Trip
A catch mechanism that acts as a switch;
The pressure activates the tripper and releases the water
Trip
A light or nimble tread;
He heard the trip of women's feet overhead
Trip
An unintentional but embarrassing blunder;
He recited the whole poem without a single trip
He arranged his robes to avoid a trip-up later
Confusion caused his unfortunate misstep
Trip
Miss a step and fall or nearly fall;
She stumbled over the tree root
Trip
Cause to stumble;
The questions on the test tripped him up
Trip
Make a trip for pleasure
Trip
Put in motion or move to act;
Trigger a reaction
Actuate the circuits
Trip
Get high, stoned, or drugged;
He trips every weekend
Trip
An excursion or travel experience, whether for business or pleasure.
His trip to the conference was both productive and enjoyable.
Trip
A brief, usually pleasurable, altered state of mind or perception.
The music had a hypnotic quality that induced a trance-like trip.
Trip
A triggering event or experience that brings back memories or emotions.
Seeing her childhood home was a trip down memory lane.
Common Curiosities
What are common types of trips?
Common types of trips include vacations, business trips, road trips, and day trips to local attractions.
Is a trip limited to traveling between cities or countries?
No, a trip can involve any form of travel, whether short or long distances, within or between regions.
What is a trip?
A trip is a journey or travel experience involving movement from one place to another, which can be for various purposes, including leisure, business, or personal reasons.
How is a trip different from a vacation?
A trip is a broader term that encompasses all types of journeys, whereas a vacation specifically refers to a leisure trip taken for relaxation or recreation.
What is a tour?
A tour is a planned and organized journey or expedition, often guided, with a defined itinerary and specific purposes, such as sightseeing or education.
Can a trip be spontaneous and unplanned?
Yes, a trip can be spontaneous and unstructured, allowing for flexibility in decision-making and activities.
Are tours always for tourists?
No, tours can be for anyone interested in exploring and learning about a particular place, whether they are tourists or locals.
Can a tour be customized to personal preferences?
Some tour operators offer customized tours where participants can tailor the itinerary to their specific interests and preferences.
What are common types of tours?
Common types of tours include guided city tours, historical tours, nature tours, museum tours, and adventure tours.
Do all tours require a guide?
While many tours include a guide, not all do. Some self-guided tours provide information through brochures or audio guides.
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Fiza RafiqueFiza Rafique is a skilled content writer at AskDifference.com, where she meticulously refines and enhances written pieces. Drawing from her vast editorial expertise, Fiza ensures clarity, accuracy, and precision in every article. Passionate about language, she continually seeks to elevate the quality of content for readers worldwide.
Edited by
Tayyaba RehmanTayyaba Rehman is a distinguished writer, currently serving as a primary contributor to askdifference.com. As a researcher in semantics and etymology, Tayyaba's passion for the complexity of languages and their distinctions has found a perfect home on the platform. Tayyaba delves into the intricacies of language, distinguishing between commonly confused words and phrases, thereby providing clarity for readers worldwide.