is time travel a noun or verb

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time-travel verb

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What does the verb time-travel mean?

There is one meaning in OED's entry for the verb time-travel . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

How common is the verb time-travel ?

How is the verb time-travel pronounced, british english, u.s. english, where does the verb time-travel come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the verb time-travel is in the 1930s.

OED's earliest evidence for time-travel is from 1937, in the writing of F. H. Brabant.

time-travel is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: time n. , travel v.

Nearby entries

• time-taker, n. 1576–
• time-taking, adj. 1839–
• time-taper, n. 1810–18
• time-taught, adj. 1758–1859
• time term, n. 1878–
• time-tested, adj. 1821–
• time thrust, n. 1771–
• time ticket, n. 1840–
• time train, n. 1853–
• time travel, n. 1914–
• time-travel, v. 1937–
• time traveller | time traveler, n. 1894–
• time travelling | time traveling, n. 1894–
• time-travelling | time-traveling, adj. 1871–
• time trial, n. 1857–
• time trialist, n. 1939–
• time trialling, n. 1953–
• time triangle, n. 1920–
• time-tried, adj. 1780–
• time value, n. 1848–
• time variation, n. 1847–

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Meaning & use

Pronunciation, entry history for time-travel, v..

Originally published as part of the entry for time, n., int., & conj.

time-travel, v. was revised in March 2012.

time-travel, v. was last modified in July 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

• further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into time-travel, v. in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

A Supplement to the OED, Volume IV (1986)

• Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

• View time, n. in OED Second Edition

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Citation details

Factsheet for time-travel, v., browse entry.

time-travel

• 1.2.1 Derived terms
• 1.3 Anagrams

time - travel ( uncountable )

• 2012 May 24, Nathan Rabin, “Film: Reviews: Men In Black 3”, in The Onion AV Club ‎ [1] : Sequels to fish-out-of-water comedies make progressively less sense the longer a series continues. By the time Crocodile Dundee In Los Angeles rolled around in 2001, 15 years after the first Crocodile Dundee became a surprise blockbuster, the title character had been given an awfully long time to grow acclimated to those kooky Americans. Men In Black 3 finagles its way out of this predicament by literally resetting the clock with a time-travel premise that makes Will Smith both a contemporary intergalactic cop in the late 1960s and a stranger to Josh Brolin, who plays the younger version of Smith’s stone-faced future partner, Tommy Lee Jones.

time - travel ( third-person singular simple present time-travels , present participle time-travelling or ( US ) time-traveling , simple past and past participle time-travelled or ( US ) time-traveled )

• ( intransitive ) To travel through time .
• ( slang ) To sleep .

Derived terms

• time-traveller
• traveltime , travel time

• English lemmas
• English nouns
• English uncountable nouns
• English multiword terms
• English terms with quotations
• English verbs
• English intransitive verbs
• English slang
• en:Time travel
• Pages with 1 entry

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time travel

• hypothetical transport through time into the past or the future.

Example Sentences

Whatever variant they meet will likely be very interested in time travel through the Quantum Realm, as the title Quantumania suggests.

It feels like every day, we get one step closer to figuring out the science behind time travel.

Considering that Loki will involve lots of time travel, it’s probable that we’ll get a glimpse of the multiverse in this show.

Then we would better understand space and time and perhaps finally decide if time travel is a realistic possibility, and if so, how to achieve it.

Physicists are far from agreeing over whether time travel of this sort is possible.

Underneath its comic-book action and time-travel shenanigans, X-Men: Days of Future Past questions the use of military robots.

The title of his forthcoming book is Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans.

But somehow in the long run, truth and time travel the same road.

As soon as I entered West 100th Street, I understood that this experience was going to involve time travel.

Nine years ago he dazzled audiences with his $7,000 time-travel flick ‘Primer.’

His story is plausible, logical, once you grant the basic premise that time travel is an actuality.

It seems absurd that parts of the same train can at any time travel in opposite directions, but such is the case.

During this journey we recovered something of the conditions of old-time travel.

Even for younger Destinyworkers, time travel at best was an exhausting business.

We may dimly perceive something of the trials and hardships of old-time travel in that expression harbouring.

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• English Only

"Travel" as a noun

• Thread starter emmi55
• Start date Apr 18, 2020

• Apr 18, 2020

I read that "travel" is a non countable noun, hence I couldn't say "a travel" or "the travel", and also that I can't use "travel" in the singular form to describe a single movement to one place to another. I can use just "travels" as a countable noun. I don't put the link of the sources because apparently I can't. So I can say:"I enjoy music, sport and travel" which indicates the act of traveling. But I can't say, for example: "the travel from home to work has been exhausting"; "the travel from Paris to Nizza went really good"; "Today, with the low-cost flights, the travel is the least part of the cost of the holiday."; "The study stated that the graduates found that «the hours worked were longer, the travel is more onerous, and the time at home more limited"; "During a travel is essential to have a camera to keep the beautiful moments with you." "A travel from here to New York could be fun" Last three are from reverso-context. They make sense to me. Maybe "a travel" is more problematic. I wouldn't use "trip" or "journeys" in these examples. The former seems too long and also there's some "adventure" in It. Trip is a temporary shift, similar to "vacation" but shorter in duration. Does this means that they are correct, or that they are incorrect and if I want to use "travel" I have to change the whole sentence and using It, for example, as a verb?  

Senior Member

emmi55 said: "The study stated that the graduates found that «the hours worked were longer, the travel is more onerous, and the time at home more limited" Click to expand...

Thank you. I didn't know that "the trip" could be used in reference to a specific trip, I didn't found It anywere, thay all say just that the singular form of travel is wrong and shouldn't be used and that's It. So, as you said, "trip" is not just a sort of smaller vacation, on which you stay for a while on your destination and after which you come back again to where you come from. In the Cambridge dictionary It says "a journey in which you go somewhere , usually for a short time , and come back again." Because, in the example I didn't specify if that It was temporary or not, in fact I was trying to avoid that meaning, meaning the opposite, just a simple movement. If I say "during a trip is essential..." I feel that It implies the meaning above, a sort of short vacation from which you come back, while I did not mean that (by the way, I took most of the examples from reverso-context). Same with "a trip to New york could be fun". But, according to you, "trip" can mean also a more general movement, long or short, and therefore It sort of take the meaning of the singular countable form of "travel" (because you can use the plural "travels" in some cases). Am I getting It right?  

• Apr 19, 2020

emmi55 said: "a journey in which you go somewhere , usually for a short time , and come back again." Click to expand...

emmi55 said: "during a trip it is essential..." Click to expand...

london calling

emmi55 said: "The study stated that the graduates found that «the hours worked were longer, the travel is more onerous, and the time at home more limited"; "During a travel is essential to have a camera to keep the beautiful moments with you." "A travel from here to New York could be fun" Last three are from reverso-context. Click to expand...

• Apr 30, 2020

london calling said: Really? The only possible sentence here is the first one. The other two were clearly not written by native speakers of English. Can you provide a link to reverso-context? In any case I think your native language is interfering with your reasoning (I know, I'm bilingual). Click to expand...

That's why there is a division between "natural" language and "constructed" languages. No one set down grammar rules and then invented words to fit those rules in any natural language, especially English. That's only been done and only been possible in constructed languages. People have been speaking using constantly evolving languages for tens of thousands of years that were never written down. It is only at the end that writing and grammarians have come along. They decided to make rules to fit usage, as best they could, not the other way around. But since the system was not constructed around codified rules it's not something that can be done perfectly. Language evolved outside of hard rules. The rules have to try keep up. It reminds me of the prior belief that all living things were plants or animals. You could say that was a rule. Then organisms were discovered that did not fit neatly into one of those two categories. It was human understanding that had to change, not Mother Nature. She can do whatever she wants. She doesn't care if her work fits in neat categories. It also reminds me of the idea of planets and continents. There is really no such thing as an objective definition of a planet or a continent. There are just chunks of land on the earth and chunks of stuff in space. It was man's idea to try to fit them in neat categories, called continents and planets. It doesn't always work very well. Pluto can tell you about that.  

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Definition of travel verb from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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travel in British English

Travel in american english, examples of 'travel' in a sentence travel, cobuild collocations travel, trends of travel.

View usage for: All Years Last 10 years Last 50 years Last 100 years Last 300 years

Browse alphabetically travel

• Travancore-Cochin
• travel a distance
• travel a route
• travel abroad
• All ENGLISH words that begin with 'T'

Related terms of travel

• rail travel
• safe travel
• time travel
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Definition of time

 (Entry 1 of 3)

see also a race against time , take one's time

Definition of time  (Entry 2 of 3)

transitive verb

intransitive verb

Definition of time  (Entry 3 of 3)

Examples of time in a Sentence

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'time.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Middle English, from Old English tīma ; akin to Old Norse tīmi time, Old English tīd — more at tide entry 3

before the 12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1a

circa 1711, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Phrases Containing time

• access time
• a deuce of a time
• a devil of a time
• a good / great / lovely time
• ahead of one's / its time
• ahead of one's time
• ahead of time
• Alaska time
• a legend in one's own time
• (all) in good time
• all (of) the time
• all the time
• all the time in the world
• a long time ago
• a long time coming
• a matter of time
• (and) not before time (too)
• apparent time
• a race against time
• as good a time as any
• a stitch in time (saves nine)
• Atlantic time
• at one time
• at one time or another
• at some time or other
• at the present time
• at the same time
• at the time of (something)
• a whale of a time
• before one's time
• be living on borrowed time
• better luck next time
• borrowed time
• buried by the sands of time
• by the time
• call (a) time - out
• central time
• closing time
• common time
• corrected time
• crunch time
• curtain time
• daylight saving time
• day / moment / time in the sun
• departure / arrival time
• die before one's time
• do one's time
• double time
• eastern time
• elapsed time
• ephemeris time
• equation of time
• first - time
• for any length of time
• for (quite) some time
• for the time being
• free / spare time
• from the time
• from time to time
• garbage time
• geologic time
• give of one's time
• give (someone) a hard time
• give (someone) the time of day
• go through a rough time
• half the time
• half - time
• have a devilish time
• have a hard time
• have all the time in the world
• have a rough time (of it)
• have a thin time (of it)
• have (got) the time
• have (the) time
• have the time of one's life
• Hawaii - Aleutian time
• hitting the big time
• in company time
• in due time
• in its own time
• in jig time
• injury time
• in less than no time
• in one's own (good) time
• in one's (own) sweet time
• in one's own time
• in one's time
• in record time
• in the course of time
• in the fullness of time
• in the nick of time
• it's about time
• it's high time
• just - in - time
• kill (the) time
• live on borrowed time
• long time no see
• lose no time
• lose track of the time
• lost in the mists of time
• make good time
• make time for (someone)
• make up for lost time
• Many's the time
• military time
• most of the time
• mountain time
• ninety / ninety - nine percent of the time
• not give (someone) the time of day
• no time to lose
• of all time
• old before one's time
• once upon a time
• on company time
• one at a time
• one more time
• (only) time will tell
• on one's own time
• Pacific time
• part - time
• pass the time
• pass the time of day
• payback time
• play for time
• playing time
• pressed for time
• prison time
• quality time
• question time
• quite some time
• regulation time
• released time
• residence time
• running time
• run out of time
• screen time
• short space of time
• sidereal time
• since that time
• since time immemorial
• small - time
• some time ago
• space - time
• standard time
• stand the test of time
• starting time
• summer time
• take (a lot of) time
• take it / things one day at a time
• take no time at all
• take one day at a time
• take one's (own) sweet time
• take one's time
• take the time
• take time out
• tell the time
• the big time
• the ravages of time
• there's no time like the present
• the sands of time
• the third time is the charm
• the time has come
• the time is up
• the whole time
• third time lucky
• time after time
• time and again
• time and a half
• time capsule
• time - consuming
• time dilation
• time expires
• time exposure
• time for bed
• time heals all wounds
• time - honored
• time immemorial
• time is at a premium
• time is a / the great healer
• time is money
• time is not on someone's side
• time is on one's side
• time killer
• time - lapse
• time machine
• time marches on
• time - of - flight
• time of year
• time on one's hands
• time out of mind
• time - release
• time reversal
• time - saving
• time series
• time - share
• time - sharing
• time signature
• time switch
• time - tested
• time - warped
• time was (when)
• to / till / until the end of time
• unearthly hour / time
• Universal time
• until such time as
• waste no time
• waste of time
• what time do you have
• what time do you make it
• whose time has come

Articles Related to time

How and When to Use 'Sometime' and...

How and When to Use 'Sometime' and 'Anytime'

As opposed to 'some time' and 'any time'

The Adverb: A Most Fascinating POS

'POS' means "part of speech," obviously

Dictionary Entries Near time

time's up

Cite this Entry

“Time.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/time. Accessed 23 Aug. 2024.

Kids Definition

Kids definition of time.

 (Entry 1 of 2)

Kids Definition of time  (Entry 2 of 2)

Medical Definition

Medical definition of time, more from merriam-webster on time.

Nglish: Translation of time for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of time for Arabic Speakers

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about time

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• Cambridge Dictionary +Plus

Meaning of travel in English

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travel verb ( MAKE JOURNEY )

• I like to travel but, then again, I'm very fond of my home .
• It's often quicker to travel across country and avoid the major roads altogether .
• Passengers without proper documentation will not be allowed to travel.
• The elderly travel free on public transport .
• We like to travel in the autumn when there are fewer tourists .
• The tragedy is that cultures don't always travel well, and few immigrant groups can sustain their culture over the long term .
• around Robin Hood's barn idiom
• baggage drop
• communication
• first class
• on the go idiom
• overnighter
• peripatetically
• public transportation

You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

travel verb ( MOVE )

• The objects travel in elliptical orbits .
• In 1947, a pilot flying over the Cascades saw nine metallic flying objects traveling at an estimated 1,200 miles per hour .
• The elevator traveled smoothly upward .
• White light separates out into its component wavelengths when traveling through a prism .
• As the material travels through the winding machine , excess liquid is squeezed out by rollers .
• Lead dust travels easily from hands to mouth and can't be seen .
• body English
• recirculate
• recirculation
• repair to somewhere

travel verb ( BREAK RULE )

• full-court press
• goaltending
• granny shot
• reverse dribble

travel noun ( ACTIVITY )

• They offer a 10 percent discount on rail travel for students .
• The price includes travel and accommodation but meals are extra .
• His work provided him with the opportunity for a lot of foreign travel.
• The popular myth is that air travel is more dangerous than travel by car or bus .
• Passes are available for one month's unlimited travel within Europe .
• break-journey
• circumnavigation

travel noun ( MOVEMENT OF OBJECT )

• It can be difficult to predict the travel of smoke from smouldering fires .
• The travel of the bullets and blood spatter showed that he was lying on the ground on his side when he was shot .
• This seemed to prove that light has a finite speed of travel.
• Striking the ball when the clubhead is already past the lowest point of its travel gives a slight overspin.
• The actuator then rotates its output shaft to the extremes of its travel.
• bring someone on
• go the distance idiom
• non-competitor
• park the bus idiom
• play big idiom
• step/move up a gear idiom

travel | Intermediate English

Travel | business english, examples of travel, collocations with travel.

These are words often used in combination with travel .

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

Translations of travel

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Word of the Day

in an energetic and continuous way

Trial, judge, and jury: talking about what happens when a criminal is caught

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• travel light
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Object Pronouns Made Easy: The Key to Simple Sentences

Learn how object pronouns will make your writing and conversation clear and concise with simple tables and lots of examples., i want to learn....

Object pronouns are a key element of daily English conversation . Imagine the following scenario. Your friend Tony is talking about a new dog he just adopted. He wants to tell you all about it – how the dog loves to chew shoes, how he loves to take walks with the dog, how happy he is to be reunited after a day at work. Instead of saying ‘my dog’ a lot of times, Tony can refer to the dog as ‘ it ’ (or maybe him or her – we’ll talk about this later).

Object pronouns like it, him and her make sentences less repetitive and more natural. In this article we will break down the use of object pronouns with practical tips and lots and lots of examples.

What are object pronouns?

A basic English sentence has a subject, a verb and an object. The subject is the person or thing doing the action, the verb is the action and the object is what is affected by the action. For example, in the sentence, “ Hannah loved your present, ” the subject is Hannah , the verb is loved , and the object is your present .

But we are not just talking about objects , we are talking about object pronouns . So what is a pronoun, you might ask? A pronoun is a word that stands in the place of a noun when, for whatever reason, we don’t want to mention that noun. The sentence “ Hanna loved your present ” could become “ She loved it . ” In this case the subject pronoun she replaces the word ‘ Hannah ’ and the object pronoun it replaces ‘ your present. ’

In most cases, the object pronoun goes right after the verb. Also, object pronouns agree in gender and number with the noun they replace, so there are masculine and feminine pronouns and singular and plural pronouns. The table below shows the English object pronouns.

English object pronouns

Let’s see these in action with a few examples:

• Please call me when you get home.
• She thanked you for your help.
• I saw him at the park yesterday.
• We need to pick her up from the airport.
• Can you hand me the remote? I can’t reach it .
• Can you join us for dinner tonight?
• I’ll see you all at the meeting tomorrow.
• I told them about our wedding.

Subject and object pronouns

So how are object pronouns different from subject pronouns? Look at this table to compare the two forms.

English subject and object pronouns

You might have noticed right away that in some cases ( you, it) the subject and object pronouns are the same. One less thing to worry about, then! With the other pronouns, you need to know if the pronoun is the subject or object of the sentence. If the pronoun is doing the action of the verb, it’s the subject, and you will use a pronoun from the first column. If the pronoun comes after the verb (it is receiving the action), then it’s the object, so use a pronoun from the second column.

The table below has examples of each type of pronoun used in a sentence.

Subject and object pronoun examples

Using you vs. him or her.

Some languages do not have different words for you and him or her. But in English, these pronouns are important. The word you is used to address someone directly. Him (for a male) and her (for a female) are used to refer to a person you are speaking about.

Using you vs. them

The same goes for you and them in the plural. While you refers to a group of people that you are speaking to directly, them refers to a group of people (or objects) that you are talking about. Here are some examples:

• I appreciate all of you working on this project with such commitment.
• Can I get you anything to drink while you wait?
• We want to thank you all for coming to our wedding.
• I heard about the new team members. Have you met them yet?
• The children left their toys everywhere. Can you help me pick them up?
• Our neighbors are moving away. We should give them a farewell gift.

In these examples you might have noticed something else. When using the word you, it’s not always clear whether you are talking to one or more than one person. In order to specify that we are referring to a group of people instead of just one person, it is quite common to say you all:

• Can I get drinks for you all ?
• I can’t believe how much work you all have done!
• Is it okay if I join you all for dinner tonight?

You all need to pay attention to this!

Busuu offers complete English courses with many practical lessons and tips to improve your English skills. Our hundreds of expert-designed lessons cover grammar, vocabulary, listening and speaking to keep you motivated and help you reach your goals.

How to use it

The object pronoun it can be used in a number of ways, like in the examples below:

I bought a new laptop. I love using it for work. (‘It’ refers to an object – a new laptop.)

We adopted a stray cat. We named it Whiskers. (‘It’ refers to an animal – a stray cat.)

They discussed the importance of creativity. Everyone values it . (‘It’ refers to an abstract concept – creativity.)

I heard it’s going to rain heavily tomorrow. We should prepare for it . (‘It’ refers to the weather – rain.)

Although we often use the word it to refer to animals, it is common to use him or her with beloved house pets. This feels more normal when referring to an animal that you have affection for.

• We adopted a stray cat. We named her Whiskers.

Besides that, basically anything that doesn’t have a gender is referred to with the object pronoun it.

Fun fact: Many sailors refer to boats with the pronoun her , as in the following example:

• The captain steered the ship into the harbor, making sure not to damage her.

Don’t worry, though, if you’re not a sailor you won’t need to do that!

The object pronoun it can also work as a dummy object in many sentences. Look at these examples:

• We made it through the storm without any damage.
• I don’t like it when people interrupt me.
• She found it difficult to maintain good communication.

In these sentences it is a placeholder for an event, situation or idea mentioned or implied by the context.

Singular them and non-binary pronouns

As we have already seen, object pronouns agree in gender with the noun that they replace. This can pose a number of problems because many names in English don’t specify the gender of the person that they are referring to. Words like doctor, professor and teacher, as well as words like friend, cousin and colleague , can refer to both men and women.

In cases like these, since it would be wrong to just presume the gender of the person that we are referring to, many English speakers use the pronoun they or them to refer to that person.

Look at these examples:

• Person A: My cousin is getting married next summer. Person B: Wonderful! Ask them if they need a wedding photographer, I know a great one.
• The new manager starts next week. Have you met them ?
• I saw someone drop their wallet, but my husband picked it up and returned it to them .
• The teacher said a new student will be joining our class. I’m looking forward to meeting them .

This gender neutral use of the pronouns they and them (sometimes referred to as ‘singular they ’) has been documented in English for centuries.

More recently, with the popularization of inclusive language, they and them can be used to refer to a non-binary person (someone who doesn’t want to identify as either male or female). In that case, even with traditionally female names like Sarah, Ann and Laura or male names like John, Peter and Mark , we can use they to refer to a single non-binary person:

• Alex is coming over later. I can’t wait to see them .
• John is organizing this event. You should coordinate with them .
• Mary had a great idea the other day. We should include them in this discussion.

It has become common in recent years for people to add their ‘preferred pronouns’ to their personal information. It’s also possible that you could be asked what your pronouns are. In that case you could answer with the male pronouns ( he and him ), female pronouns ( she and her ) or gender neutral pronouns ( they and them ).

Apart from they and them, there is a long list of other non-binary pronouns some people use, like ze/hir, xe/xem, ey/em and many others. Just go with someone’s preferred pronouns and you will be fine. And if you happen to make a mistake with this, don’t worry too much – it happens! In that case just apologize, correct yourself and move on.

Wrapping up

To sum up, object pronouns are essential words that replace nouns to keep our conversations and writing concise and clear. It’s important to distinguish between subject and object pronouns as these are often different words in English. Also, remember that they and them are gender-neutral pronouns often used for non-binary individuals or when someone’s gender is not known.

If all this sounds a little confusing, don’t worry! Keep practising and you will master object pronouns in no time!

Start practising object pronouns today!

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