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tramp

 - 3 dictionary results

tramp

  [tramp]
Use tramp in a Sentence
–verb (used without object)
1. to tread or walk with a firm, heavy, resounding step.
2. to tread heavily or trample (usually fol. by on or upon): to tramp on a person's toes.
3. to walk steadily; march; trudge.
4. to go on a walking excursion or expedition; hike.
5. to go about as a vagabond or tramp.
6. to make a voyage on a tramp steamer.
–verb (used with object)
7. to tramp or walk heavily or steadily through or over.
8. to traverse on foot: to tramp the streets.
9. to tread or trample underfoot: to tramp grapes.
10. to travel over as a tramp.
11. to run (a ship) as a tramp steamer.
–noun
12. the act of tramping.
13. a firm, heavy, resounding tread.
14. the sound made by such a tread.
15. a long, steady walk; trudge.
16. a walking excursion or expedition; hike.
17. a person who travels on foot from place to place, esp. a vagabond living on occasional jobs or gifts of money or food.
18. a sexually promiscuous woman; prostitute.
19. a freight vessel that does not run regularly between fixed ports, but takes a cargo wherever shippers desire. Compare cargo liner.
20. a piece of iron affixed to the sole of a shoe.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME trampen to stamp; c. LG trampen; akin to Goth ana-trimpan to press hard upon. See traipse, trample

Related forms:
tramper, noun
trampish, adjective
tramp⋅ish⋅ly, adverb
tramp⋅ish⋅ness, noun

Synonyms:
17. vagrant, bum, hobo.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To tramp
tramp   (trāmp)   
v.   tramped, tramp·ing, tramps

v.   intr.

  1. To walk with a firm, heavy step; trudge.

    1. To travel on foot; hike.

    2. To wander about aimlessly.

v.   tr.

  1. To traverse on foot: tramp the fields.

  2. To tread down; trample: tramp down snow.

n.  

    1. A heavy footfall.

    2. The sound produced by heavy walking or marching.

    3. A prostitute.

    4. A person regarded as promiscuous.

  2. A walking trip; a hike.

  3. One who travels aimlessly about on foot, doing odd jobs or begging for a living; a vagrant.

    1. A prostitute.

    2. A person regarded as promiscuous.

  5. Nautical A tramp steamer.

  6. A metal plate attached to the sole of a shoe for protection, as when spading ground.


[Middle English trampen, to walk heavily, from Middle Low German.]
tramp'er n., tramp'ish adj., tramp'y adj.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Word Origin & History

tramp  (v.)
1388, "walk heavily, stamp," from M.L.G. trampen "to stamp," from P.Gmc. *tramp- (cf. Dan. trampe, Swed. trampa "to tramp, stamp," Goth. ana-trimpan "to press upon"), probably from a variant of the P.Gmc. source of trap. The noun meaning "person who wanders about, vagabond" is first recorded 1664, from the verb. Sense of "steamship which takes cargo wherever it can be traded" (as opposed to one running a regular line) is attested from c.1880. The meaning "promiscuous woman" is from 1922.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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