traverse

American  

[trav-ers, truh-vurs] / ˈtræv ərs, trəˈvɜrs /

verb (used with object)

traverses, present (3rd person singular) traversed, past participle, past traversing present participle

1. to pass or move over, along, or through.

   Synonyms:

   cross

2. to go to and fro over or along.

3. to extend across or over.

   A bridge traverses the stream.

4. to go up, down, or across (a rope, mountain, hill, etc.) at an angle.

   The climbers traversed the east face of the mountain.

5. to ski across (a hill or slope).

6. to cause to move laterally.

7. to look over, examine, or consider carefully; survey; consider.

8. to go counter to; obstruct; thwart.

9. to contradict or deny.

   Synonyms:

   challenge, dispute, gainsay

10. Law.

    1. (in the law of pleading) to deny formally (an allegation of fact set forth in a previous pleading).

    2. to join issue upon.

11. to turn and point (a gun) in any direction.

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verb (used without object)

traverses, present (3rd person singular) traversed, past participle, past traversing present participle

1. to pass along or go across something; cross.

   a point in the river where we could traverse.

2. to ski across a hill or slope on a diagonal.

3. to turn laterally, as a gun.

4. Fencing. to glide the blade toward the hilt of the contestant's foil while applying pressure to the blade.

noun

traverses plural

1. the act of passing across, over, or through.

2. something that crosses, obstructs, or thwarts; obstacle.

3. a transversal or similar line.

4. a place where one may traverse or cross; crossing.

5. Architecture. a transverse gallery or loft of communication in a church or other large building.

6. a bar, strip, rod, or other structural part placed or extending across; crosspiece; crossbar.

7. a railing, lattice, or screen serving as a barrier.

8. Nautical.

   1. the zigzag track of a vessel compelled by contrary winds or currents to sail on different courses.

   2. each of the runs in a single direction made in such sailing.

9. Fortification.

   1. a defensive barrier, parapet, or the like, placed transversely.

   2. a defensive barrier thrown across the terreplein or the covered way of a fortification to protect it from enfilade fire.

10. Gunnery. the horizontal turning of a gun so as to make it point in any required direction.

11. Machinery.

    1. the motion of a lathe tool or grinding wheel along a piece of work.

    2. a part moving along a piece of work in this way, as the carriage of a lathe.

12. Surveying. a series of intersecting surveyed lines whose lengths and angles of intersection, measured at instrument stations, are recorded graphically on a map and in numerical form in data tables.

13. Law. a formal denial of some matter of fact alleged by the other side.

adjective

1. lying, extending, or passing across; transverse.

traverse British  

/ trəˈvɜːs, ˈtrævɜːs /

verb

1. to pass or go over or back and forth over (something); cross

2. (tr) to go against; oppose; obstruct

3. to move or cause to move sideways or crosswise

4. (tr) to extend or reach across

5. to turn (an artillery gun) laterally on its pivot or mount or (of an artillery gun) to turn laterally

6. (tr) to look over or examine carefully

7. (tr) law to deny (an allegation of fact), as in pleading

8. (intr) fencing to slide one's blade towards an opponent's hilt while applying pressure against his blade

9. mountaineering to move across (a face) horizontally

10. (tr) nautical to brace (a yard) fore and aft

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noun

1. something being or lying across, such as a transom

2. a gallery or loft inside a building that crosses it

3. maths another name for transversal

4. an obstruction or hindrance

5. fortifications a protective bank or other barrier across a trench or rampart

6. a railing, screen, or curtain

7. the act or an instance of traversing or crossing

8. a path or road across

9. nautical the zigzag course of a vessel tacking frequently

10. law the formal denial of a fact alleged in the opposite party's pleading

11. surveying a survey consisting of a series of straight lines, the length of each and the angle between them being measured

12. mountaineering a horizontal move across a face

adjective

1. being or lying across; transverse

adverb

1. an archaic word for across

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• traversal
  noun
• traverser
  noun
• retraverse
  verb
• nontraversable
  adjective
• traversable
  adjective
• untraversable
  adjective
• untraversed
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• traverses
  plural

Participles

• traversing
  present
• traversed
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• traverse
  simple
• traverses
  simple
• have traversed
  perfect
• has traversed
  perfect
• am traversing
  progressive
• are traversing
  progressive
• is traversing
  progressive
• have been traversing
  perfect progressive
• has been traversing
  perfect progressive

Past

• traversed
  simple
• had traversed
  perfect
• was traversing
  progressive
• were traversing
  progressive
• had been traversing
  perfect progressive

Future

• will traverse
  simple
• will have traversed
  perfect
• will be traversing
  progressive
• will have been traversing
  perfect progressive

Etymology

Origin of traverse

First recorded in 1250–1300; (verb) Middle English traversen, from Middle French traverser ”to cross,” from Late Latin trānsversāre, derivative of Latin trānsversus ( see trans-, versus); (noun) Middle English travers(e), from Middle French traverse (from Latin trānsversa “something lying across,” feminine of trānsversus ) and travers (from Latin trānsversum passage across, neuter of trānsversus )

Explanation

The verb traverse means to travel across an extended area. "Her dream was to traverse the country by car, so she could meet new people and see all the kitschy sites — like the giant roadside tire in Michigan or the shoe house in Pennsylvania." The verb traverse can also mean "to span," to span a physical space or time. "The bridge traversed the river, linking the two cities." Traverse can be used for any crossing, but it often is used when implying the crossing will be difficult. "She was exhausted from traveling in the snowy conditions, but she still had to traverse an icy bridge before she would arrive safely home."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

traverse traverses traversed traversing

In June, thousands came to Tunkhannock Viaduct in Pennsylvania to see it traverse the concrete arch bridge.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

“Neuromancer,” one of the defining cyberpunk novels, was published in 1988; that book imagines an interconnected, virtual reality world you can traverse by “jacking in.”

From Salon ● Jun. 8, 2026

Cummings has a wider range to traverse as Arnold, whose repressed rage eventually has to find an outlet.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 3, 2026

The bridge pinches off faster than light could traverse it, rendering it non-traversable.

From Science Daily ● May 22, 2026

We traverse fields and forests, walk through barren lands where quails and woodcocks fly up at our feet, and, after twelve miles of bushwhacking, enter the Plattekill State Forest.

From "On the Far Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George

With nothing but a handheld camcorder, a man traverses endless corridors and rooms adorned with soft-chartreuse wallpaper.

From Salon ● May 30, 2026

The course traverses the city, starting off in Stormont in east Belfast then heading south.

From BBC ● May 3, 2026

“Greg traverses the world of books, business and tech and brings a range of experience to the job,” Karp said in an interview.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 9, 2026

Combined with the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz—some 20% of the world’s oil traverses through the narrow waterway—$150 oil may not be so far-fetched.

From Barron's ● Mar. 7, 2026

A couple of weeks after Enrique disappears, his paternal grandmother, Maria, traverses Tegucigalpa to talk to Enrique’s relatives and Maria Isabel.

From "Enrique's Journey" by Sonia Nazario

In recent weeks, dozens of ships, some of them the world’s largest tankers laden with oil and liquefied natural gas, have traversed the dangerous crossing, The Wall Street Journal reported late last month.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 7, 2026

A description says it happened over Lake Huron in February 2023, around the time that a Chinese surveillance balloon traversed the United States, spurring increased scrutiny of UFOs.

From BBC ● May 22, 2026

Colossal co-founder and CEO Ben Lamm acknowledged that a long road will have to be traversed to move from hatching baby chickens to resurrecting the moa by email.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026

On Tuesday, two Chinese tankers carrying crude oil traversed the Strait of Hormuz.

From MarketWatch ● May 20, 2026

From here, we traversed all the familiar loops of the old argument.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Indonesia and Singapore vowed on Monday that the Strait of Malacca, a critical oil transit chokepoint in the region, will remain "accessible" even as Iran imposes fees on ships traversing the Strait of Hormuz.

From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026

Vasquez’s fears stemmed less from corporate backlash and more from his past life as a raver traversing Orange County and L.A.’s late-night scenes.

From Slate ● Jun. 25, 2026

At least by someone who has spent four months traversing the country.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 15, 2026

Often lately have I thought of a sentence in Patrick Leigh Fermor’s “A Time of Gifts,” his account of traversing Europe on foot in the early 1930s.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 13, 2026

For months at a time, James entertained these pale creatures, their white buggies traversing the mud tracks that led to the great house.

From "The Underground Railroad: A Novel" by Colson Whitehead

Related Words

• criss-cross
• cross
• cut across
• pass through
• span
• travel over