vacation, voyage, destination, arrival, departure: meanings and examples

Learn these 5 words from Intermediate set 5. Each entry includes a definition, example sentence, pronunciation, and synonyms. Use the interactive cards above to practice them.

1. vacation · noun/veɪˈkeɪʃən/

   time when you do not work or study, often spent travelling

   We spent our summer vacation at my grandmother's house by the sea.

   Synonyms: break, holiday, time off

   Origin: late Middle English: from Old French, or from Latin vacatio(n-), from vacare ‘be unoccupied’ (see vacate)

2. voyage · noun/ˈvɔɪ(ɪ)dʒ/

   a long journey by ship or in space

   Victoria did not like long sea voyages since she suffered from seasickness.

   Synonyms: cruise, journey, crossing

   Origin: Middle English (as a noun denoting a journey): from Old French voiage, from Latin viaticum ‘provisions for a journey’ (in late Latin ‘journey’)

3. destination · noun/ˌdɛstəˈneɪʃən/

   the place where someone or something is going

   My friend and I will be traveling throughout Portugal this summer, and our final destination will be Albufeira.

   Synonyms: place, stop, end point

   Origin: late Middle English: from Latin destinatio(n-), from destinare ‘make firm, establish’. The original sense was ‘the action of intending someone or something for a purpose’, later ‘being destined for a place’, hence (from the early 19th century) the place itself

4. arrival · noun/əˈraɪvəl/

   the time when someone or something gets to a place

   The flight was delayed significantly due to the late arrival of the plane.

   Synonyms: coming, landing

   Origin: late Middle English: from Anglo-Norman French arrivaille, from Old French arriver (see arrive)

5. departure · noun/dəˈpɑrtʃər/

   the act of leaving a place to go to another place

   If you want breakfast early because of an early departure, please tell the hotel reception.

   Synonyms: going away, leaving

   Origin: late Middle English: from Old French departeure, from the verb departir (see depart)