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to tramp through the woods

to tramp through the woods

1 6.0
To walk for a long time through the woods, often slowly and with effort
  • phrasal verb
  • /træmp θru ðə wʊdz/
translation icon : caminar por el bosque
  • Every summer, the kids tramp through the woods near our home, looking for hidden treasures among the trees.

Examples

  • You went to school that first week and for five days stood in the woods watching the children at play outside, then the bell would ring and they would go inside, and when the yard had cleared you would tramp through the woods back home. You would dawdle at the Dye Ditch and check where you could and could not jump it and be amazed at all the vile colors. You would sit on the bank and grieve and tell yourself that tomorrow you would go inside with them.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • After a long day of painting the house, we decided to tramp through the woods to enjoy the fresh air.

  • She loves to tramp through the woods on weekends, exploring the trails and listening to the birds.

Synonyms

to hike
vsto tramp through the woods
120 2.0

To walk for a long time in the countryside for exercise or pleasure

is more laborious and deliberate, specifically through wooded terrain
to tramp
vsto tramp through the woods
17 5.5

To walk with heavy steps, often over rough ground

is a steady long walk through wooded areas with deliberate, laborious pace
to tramp across
vsto tramp through the woods
1 5.4

To walk with heavy steps across a large area

is focused on steady movement inside forests rather than crossing open areas

Antonyms

122 1.8

To walk slowly and enjoy it

How Strenuous

to trudge
21 5.5
to tramp through the woods
1 6.0

Surface Forms

Morphology

tramp + through + the + woods

The meaning is directly compositional: 'tramp' (to walk heavily) + 'through' (moving across) + 'the woods' (a wooded area) yields walking laboriously across a forest. This is a literal, cross-linguistically common construction with no idiomatic shift, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents should understand it.

Etymology

The phrase tramp through the woods gives a clear image: someone in heavy boots who tramps through the woods, pushing through trees and bushes as they walk. So it means 'to walk for a long time through a forest', often in a steady or tiring way.