to pay a visit

Examples

• All

• We just wanted to pay a visit to the prettiest girl in... Atlanta.

  The Dukes of Hazzard (2005)

• I was already an avid amateur astronomer, so Al Meyer and I paid a visit to the Copenhagen Observatory.

  Academic text (1999)

• Within weeks, a special agent of the Department of State paid a visit to this museum.

  Academic text (2003)

• Uh, I was born near here, and... it would be a sin if I came out here without paying a visit to my father.

  Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

• The sergeant and I are going to pay a visit to the local.

  Fiction book (1996)

• After lunch, she crossed the street to pay a visit to George.

  Fiction book (1995)

• The mother and little twin girls had come to pay a visit.

  Fiction book (2002)

• And like any other tourist, I paid a visit to the Statue of Liberty, and I read those famous words.

  Jesus Revolution (2023)

• I think we should all pay a visit to our old friend Oliver Oliphant.

  Fiction book (1990)

• During what seems to have been an end-of-term vacation, Luther paid a visit to his family home.

  Academic text (1994)

Synonyms

S

to see

vsto pay a visit

∞ 1.0

To visit a place or event to look at its sights

is usually a brief personal or practical visit rather than for entertainment

V

to visit

vsto pay a visit

∞ 1.0

To go to see a person or place, usually for a short time

is a shorter, more narrowly timed trip rather than broad purposes

C

to come by

vsto pay a visit

• Informal

506 3.9

Visit someone at home without calling first

is mainly about brief presence, not the informal unplanned nature

S

to stop by

vsto pay a visit

• Informal

494 2.5

To make a short visit to a person or place

is about brief visiting generally, not specifically casual or nearby stops

D

to drop by

vsto pay a visit

• Informal

206 2.5

To visit someone or a place for a short time without planning

is about short visits generally, not specifically informal or casual

D

to drop in

vsto pay a visit

• Informal

72 3.6

Visit someone without arranging it first

is the short action itself rather than the absence of planning

S

to swing by

vsto pay a visit

72 3.7

Visit a place for a short time while on the way somewhere

is generally short but does not require being en route to somewhere

C

to call on

vsto pay a visit

41 3.1

To visit someone briefly for a purpose

is a short general visit rather than one done for a set purpose

P

to pop in

vsto pay a visit

• Informal

25 3.4

To make a short informal visit to a place

is a short visit too but not limited to very quick entries

C

to call in

vsto pay a visit

• UK

1 2.8

Pay a short, often unplanned visit to someone

can be brief but does not focus on lacking prior arrangement

S

to swing through

vsto pay a visit

• US

1 3.9

Stop at a place for a short time while going somewhere else

is a short visit not necessarily done while travelling through

How Long

to stay

∞ 1.0

overnight

11 2.5

to visit

∞ 1.0

to pay a visit

50 2.3

to pop in

• Informal

25 3.4

Surface Forms

Morphology

Etymology