# POLL: Your perception of a word's definition **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [September 7, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823 "2025-09-07T17:46:42Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Infovore](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/infovore/32/420_2.png) [@Infovore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Infovore)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/1 "2025-09-07T17:46:42Z")
I am curious about this, because it never occurred to me that the definition I have believed to be true for this word all my life is not the correct one. I posed this question on my Facebook page, and the overwhelming majority of people also believed my definition to be correct–including several successful authors and professional editors. So, _WITHOUT_ looking up the word ahead of time, please vote for your personal definition of the following word. **TRAIPSE** _Poll ([view on site](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/1))_ (I’ve never created a poll before, so I did it wrong and allowed up to 3 responses. Please only pick one because I don’t know how to fix it.) ---
**Author:** ![Karen\_Lingel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karen_lingel/32/18649_2.png) [@Karen\_Lingel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Karen_Lingel)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/2 "2025-09-07T17:56:41Z")
For me, the definition is more “without purpose”, so you could be wandering reluctantly _or_ aimlessly, possibly whimsically _or_ wearily. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/3 "2025-09-07T18:04:09Z")
In my family as I was growing up, the word signified a long, tiresome journey, as in: “I don’t want to have to traipse all over hell and gone to find this place.” ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/4 "2025-09-07T18:26:45Z")
I chose the aimlessly one but on thought that wasn’t really it. But close. Not whimsically though. More like @Jackmannii ’s meaning than anything else. Not tired reluctantly or wearily and not necessarily without purpose but very much not a direct line and implying an annoying inefficient schlep. I definitely might trudge along while traipsing. It is a critical word. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/5 "2025-09-07T18:30:38Z")
Agree w both the above. Neither of the OP’s poll definitions fit; they’re sorta 90 degrees to the distinction I’d want to make. In my gleaned from context as a child definition, a “traipse” is less onerous or pointless than a wild goose chase, but is definitely doing it the hard way to no incremental benefit. ---
**Author:** ![Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/elmer_j.fudd/32/1211_2.png) [@Elmer\_J.Fudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elmer_J.Fudd)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/6 "2025-09-07T18:42:36Z")
> [@DSeid](#): > > Not tired reluctantly or wearily and not necessarily without purpose but very much not a direct line and implying an annoying inefficient schlep. After choosing the wrong answer I checked to see if “traipse” was a synonym of “schlep”. I was surprised to find that I didn’t know what “schlep” means either. It’s not just a burdensome journey; it also requires carrying or dragging something. ---
**Author:** ![Reply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/reply/32/15952_2.png) [@Reply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reply)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/7 "2025-09-07T18:52:54Z")
Different dictionaries also have different definitions of the word… Aimlessly: - [TRAIPSE Definition & Meaning | Dictionary.com](https://www.dictionary.com/browse/traipse) - [TRAIPSE Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster](https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/traipse) Wearily: - [TRAIPSE | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary](https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/traipse) - [https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/traipse](https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/traipse) - [traipse verb - Definition, pictures, pronunciation and usage notes | Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary at OxfordLearnersDictionaries.com](https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/us/definition/english/traipse) Both/either: - [Traipse - Oxford Reference](https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780197599020.001.0001/acref-9780197599020-e-9036) - [Traipse - Etymology, Origin & Meaning](https://www.etymonline.com/word/traipse) - [traipse - Wiktionary, the free dictionary](https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/traipse) - [traipse - WordReference.com Dictionary of English](https://www.wordreference.com/definition/traipse) Other: - Just “to go”, not aimlessly or wearily: [Traipse Definition & Meaning | Britannica Dictionary](https://www.britannica.com/dictionary/traipse) Could this be a US vs UK difference? ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/8 "2025-09-07T18:59:19Z")
Traipse is an interesting word, because unlike, say, run, it’s used almost always in the past tense. You’d say, “I traipsed from store to store yesterday before I found what I want,” and would be unlikely to say “I will traipse tomorrow” or “I am traipsing now.” Unless you’re doing it humorously. When either my wife or I are going out to run several errands, the other might say “Are you to going to traipse?” Traipse is just a funny word to say. Yet that usage of traipse belongs to neither of the OP’s choices. We aren’t wandering aimlessly, but with a fixed itinerary. Nor is the prospect necessarily wearying, but a normal part of everyday chores. It can be a fun part of getting out of the house and doing stuff. “I traipsed from store to store,” however, is poll #2, because it implied more work and travel than desired. Yet, if one is wandering around a big craft fair, that’s also traipsing, with no intentional path, wandering with one’s eye as the guide. Traipse is a sufficiently uncommon word that I’m not sure has a common definitive meaning, only meanings that emerge out of various contexts. ETA re Dseid: “I schlepped from store to store” could very well be a more casual way of putting the annoyance. Schlep certainly means dragging oneself and not merely an object. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 6:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/9 "2025-09-07T18:59:35Z")
Re “schlep” - No it doesn’t. Or more precisely that _thing_ can and often is your_self_. And it isn’t “difficult” in the sense of challenging but in the sense of annoyingly. One is rarely proud of having schlepped to get something or somewhere, one is mildly annoyed at having had to. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/10 "2025-09-07T19:03:03Z")
> [@Infovore](#): > > TRAIPSE Both definitions are- IMHO okay. But not perfect. ---
**Author:** ![DSeid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dseid/32/20194_2.png) [@DSeid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSeid)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/11 "2025-09-07T19:14:16Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > would be unlikely to say “I will traipse tomorrow” I know from experience that I will not enjoy tagging along with my wife and daughter when they shop for clothes because they _will traipse_ among different stores for hours. They won’t be aimless or purposeless. But it won’t be methodical. And ETA agreed on “schlepping.” In that shopping trip I’d be schlepping while they are traipsing. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 9:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/12 "2025-09-07T21:18:23Z")
Traipsing implies extended walking. No such thing as a short traipse. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/13 "2025-09-07T21:20:30Z")
For me traipsing implies weariness. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/14 "2025-09-07T21:26:20Z")
I also think traipsing involves being weary. But not reluctant. You might raise traipse along doggedly. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/15 "2025-09-07T21:34:14Z")
Traipse is not slog, which is what I’d use for reluctantly / wearily. It’s closer to trek for me, but without a purpose. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/16 "2025-09-07T21:34:38Z")
> [@Jackmannii](#): > > “I don’t want to have to traipse all over hell and gone to find this place.” I might hear something like that but it would be meant sarcastically. Children traipse as they excitedly move from place to place. So for me, it’s the contrast between that sort of aimless enthusiasm and the image of trudging through hell that makes that phrasing fun. Traipsing doesn’t connote weariness at all. It might even involve skipping. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/17 "2025-09-07T21:35:06Z")
So which definition did you think it was? And which one do you now think it is? ---
**Author:** ![Jaycat.again](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jaycat.again/32/11525_2.png) [@Jaycat.again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jaycat.again)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/18 "2025-09-07T21:38:27Z")
I’ve always wondered if “traipse” somehow was derived from “trespass.” ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Strangelove](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr.strangelove/32/6613_2.png) [@Dr.Strangelove](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Strangelove)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/19 "2025-09-07T21:39:17Z")
Well, I voted for #1, and was surprised to see that the definition leans a bit closer to #2. But I also think actual usage is probably broad enough to cover both in different situations. Even “aimless” has a pretty broad range of connotations. It could be a kid in a museum zipping from exhibit without any apparent plan, or it could be a drunkard stumbling down the sidewalk. ---
**Author:** ![Roderick\_Femm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roderick_femm/32/14875_2.png) [@Roderick\_Femm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roderick_Femm)\ **Post date:** [September 7, 2025, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823/20 "2025-09-07T21:42:18Z")
> [@Jaycat.again](#): > > I’ve always wondered if “traipse” somehow was derived from “trespass.” Me too, and etymonline seems to think they are related. But traipse and trespass are more like different branches from an older French word, _trepasser_, to pass over or beyond. You can see the relationship, in the case of trespass, you are passing over or beyond some kind of border, while to traipse you are possibly passing over or beyond where you would prefer not to have to go. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/poll-your-perception-of-a-words-definition/1022823.md?page=2)