Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

traverse

/tɹəˈvɝs/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.40 in modern English

Syllables: tra-verse
IPA: /tɹəˈvɝs/

11

Scrabble Score

8

Letters

2

Syllables

6

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A route used in mountaineering, specifically rock climbing, in which the descent occurs by a different route than the ascent.

noun

A series of points, with angles and distances measured between, traveled around a subject, usually for use as "control" i.e. angular reference system for later surveying work.

noun

A screen or partition.

Obsolete

noun

Something that thwarts or obstructs.

noun

A gallery or loft of communication from side to side of a church or other large building.

noun

A formal denial of some matter of fact alleged by the opposite party in any stage of the pleadings. The technical words introducing a traverse are absque hoc ("without this", i.e. without what follows).

noun

The zigzag course or courses made by a ship in passing from one place to another; a compound course.

noun

A line lying across a figure or other lines; a transversal.

Example Sentences

"At the entrance of the king, the first traverse was drawn, and the lower descent of the mountain discovered, which was the pendant of a hill to life, with divers boscages and grovets upon the steep or hanging grounds thereof."
"Than sholde ye see there pressynge in a pace / Of one and other that wolde this lady see, / Whiche sat behynde a traves of sylke fyne, / Of golde of tessew the fynest that myghte be […]"
"At the entrance of the king, / The first traverse was drawn."
"He will succeed, as long as there are no unlucky traverses not under his control."
"Two years earlier another U.S. submarine, U.S.S. Nautilus, had made history by completing the first undersea traverse of the North Pole."
"At night, when the Federal guns slowed their fire, the men created new traverses and bombproofs."

Etymology

From Middle English traversen, from Old French traverser, from Latin trans (“across”) + versus (“turned”), perfect passive participle of Latin vertere (“to turn”).

Origin

Source language: Middle English

Word Breakdown

Root: traversen, traverser, trans, vertere, Traverse

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /tɹəˈvɝs/
British English: /tɹəˈvɜːs/

Usage

Inflected Forms

traverses (plural) traverses (present, singular) traversing (participle, present) traversed (participle, past) traversed (past) more traverse (comparative) most traverse (superlative)

Derived Forms

nontraversing retraverse traversable untraversed traversely traversewise

Phrases

girdle traverse Grand Traverse County Grand Traverse disease hand traverse Little Traverse Traverse City Traverse County traverse drill

Frequently Paired Words

girdle traverse Grand Traverse County Grand Traverse disease hand traverse Little Traverse traversal Traverse City Traverse County

Synonyms

traversal transom trave crossbeam crosspiece deny track cover cross pass over get over get across

Rhymes With

worse universe nurse reverse diverse verse curse purse public purse converse disperse transverse

Questions

How do you pronounce traverse?: The recorded pronunciation is /tɹəˈvɝs/.
What does traverse mean?: A route used in mountaineering, specifically rock climbing, in which the descent occurs by a different route than the ascent.
Where does traverse come from?: It is traced to Middle English.

How to pronounce traverse

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “traverse”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/tɹəˈvɝs/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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