pilgrimage

[ pil-gruh-mij ]

noun

1. a journey, especially a long one, made to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion:

   a pilgrimage to Lourdes.

2. Islam.
   1. the Pilgrimage, hajj.
   2. ʿumrah.
3. any long journey, especially one undertaken as a quest or for a votive purpose, as to pay homage:

   a pilgrimage to the grave of Shakespeare.

   Synonyms: tour, excursion

verb (used without object)

, pil·grim·aged, pil·grim·ag·ing.

1. to make a pilgrimage.

pilgrimage

/ ˈpɪlɡrɪmɪdʒ /

noun

1. a journey to a shrine or other sacred place
2. a journey or long search made for exalted or sentimental reasons

verb

1. intr to make a pilgrimage

Word History and Origins

Origin of pilgrimage¹

First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English pilegrimage ( pilgrim, -age ); replacing earlier pelrimage, alteration of Old French pelerinage

Synonym Study

See trip ¹.

Example Sentences

Among those to make the pilgrimage to West Yorkshire was Stewart Short from Cambridgeshire.

From BBC

In “A Real Pain,” cousins David and Benji — close since childhood but not quite brotherly — take a pilgrimage to Poland to see their late grandmother’s former home.

From Los Angeles Times

I put on my old Army trench coat and boots and, as I have on many days, and especially in these monumental moments, I made my pilgrimage to Trump Tower in downtown Chicago.

From Salon

The pilgrimages into GOP territory branded the governor as a pugilist capable of landing shots on the Republican Party and former President Trump.

From Los Angeles Times

Even as the Democrat-controlled US Senate was preparing to hold Trump’s impeachment trial, McCarthy’s Palm Beach pilgrimage illustrated that one of the most powerful Republicans in Congress still viewed the former president as a king-maker.

From BBC

Related Words

• crusade
• excursion
• expedition
• tour
• trip