- 1 [intransitive] to catch your foot on something and fall or almost fall She tripped and fell. trip over/on something Someone will trip over that cable. (figurative) I was tripping over my words in my excitement to tell them the news. trip over/up Be careful you don't trip up on the step. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbaccidentally, almost, nearly, … prepositionon, over phrasestrip and fall See full entry
- 2 [transitive] trip somebody (also trip somebody up) to catch somebody’s foot and make them fall or almost fall As I passed, he stuck out a leg and tried to trip me up. The referee said Rooney was tripped and gave a penalty. Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverbaccidentally, almost, nearly, … prepositionon, over phrasestrip and fall See full entry
- 3[intransitive] + adv./prep. (literary) to walk, run or dance with quick light steps She said goodbye and tripped off along the road. (figurative) a melody with a light tripping rhythm Oxford Collocations Dictionary adverblightly, out prepositionalong, down, up, … phrasescome tripping See full entry
- 4[transitive] trip something to release a switch, etc. or to operate something by doing so to trip a switch Any intruders will trip the alarm.
- 5[intransitive] (informal) to be under the influence of a drug that makes you hallucinate Word OriginMiddle English: from Old French triper, from Middle Dutch trippen ‘to skip, hop’.Extra examples Be careful or you’ll trip up. Don’t leave toys on stairs where someone could trip and fall. I nearly tripped over the cat. One of the boys tripped over and crashed into a tree. She came tripping lightly down the stairs. She tripped on the loose stones. She went tripping along the path. Be careful you don’t trip up on the step.Idioms
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BrE BrE//trɪp//; NAmE NAmE//trɪp//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they trip BrE BrE//trɪp//; NAmE NAmE//trɪp//
he / she / it trips BrE BrE//trɪps//; NAmE NAmE//trɪps//
past simple tripped BrE BrE//trɪpt//; NAmE NAmE//trɪpt//
past participle tripped BrE BrE//trɪpt//; NAmE NAmE//trɪpt//
-ing form tripping BrE BrE//ˈtrɪpɪŋ//; NAmE NAmE//ˈtrɪpɪŋ//
to be easy to say or pronounce It's not a name that exactly trips off the tongue, is it?
time that you spend thinking about and remembering the past or going to a place again in order to remind yourself of past experiences Visiting my old school was a real trip down memory lane. Phrasal Verbstrip up
Check pronunciation: trip
