Skip to main content
to trip

to trip

219 2.2
To cause someone to stumble or lose balance
  • verb
  • /trɪp/
translation icon : tropezar
  • She tripped and fell.
  • tripped and fell
  • trip or stumble
  • try to trip

We tripped over a thing, but we tripped over a structure.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • But as I said before, when you know where you going, you don't trip on how you getting there.

  • By sheer bad luck, he would trip over them no matter what they did.

    Fiction book (1992)
  • Yeah, until he trips over something, right?

  • - Man, you tripped over your own shoes.

  • Suddenly, a foot catches on a rock, and he trips and falls onto his side.

    Academic text (2002)
  • As the crew jumps down, Tim trips and falls flat on his face.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • She tripped over my foot, and nearly fell down a flight of stairs.

  • Many accidents occur because an individual tripped, fell over, or walked into an obstruction.

    Academic text (2007)
  • And since then, mainstream Democrats have tripped over themselves trying to prove that they are as pro-military as anyone.

    Academic text (2007)
  • He tripped on the uneven pavement and fell to the ground.

Synonyms

to stumble
vsto trip
129 1.6

To trip or lose balance while walking and almost fall

covers both physical loss of balance and metaphorical causing mistakes
to topple
vsto trip
93 4.1

To fall over or make something fall over, often suddenly when it loses balance

is more about complete toppling rather than a brief loss of balance
to tumble
vsto trip
88 2.9

To fall or roll suddenly, often turning over

is more about sudden full rolls rather than brief loss of balance
to fall over
vsto trip
67 1.0

To lose your balance or stop being steady and end up on the ground

can also mean causing someone to lose balance intentionally or metaphorically
to trip over
vsto trip
49 1.9

Lose your balance when your foot hits or catches on something while walking

also includes causing someone else to lose balance or cause errors
to trip up
vsto trip
27 4.9

Make a mistake or cause someone else to make one

also covers causing physical loss of balance as well as metaphorical errors
to take a tumble
vsto trip
7 5.4

To fall suddenly, for example by tripping or by losing value

is narrower in meaning focusing on loss of balance rather than long declines
to trip over one's own feet
vsto trip
  • Informal
1 6.8

To stumble or fall because you are clumsy

includes causing others to lose balance or metaphorical errors not just self-clumsiness
to stumble against
vsto trip
1 3.5

To trip and bump into something by accident

covers accidental bumps but also deliberate or metaphorical causes of imbalance
to overbalance
vsto trip
1 5.6

To lose balance and almost fall

is broader including both catching a foot and other causes of imbalance
to trippin'
vsto trip
  • Informal
9.6

To stumble and catch your foot while walking

is the standard term covering both physical and metaphorical loss of balance

Idioms

44 1.0

Traveling away from home to visit another place for holiday or work

To stumble or fall because you are clumsy

Dance in a lively, graceful way to music

1 9.9

A strong private scolding for someone who did something wrong

To dance in a lively, elegant way to music

Phrasal Verbs

49 1.9

Lose your balance when your foot hits or catches on something while walking

27 4.9

Make a mistake or cause someone else to make one

Decide not to go on a planned journey because of a problem

3 9.8

Feel strange and see or hear things after taking drugs

to trip out
  • Informal
1 8.6

Become very upset or excited and act confused suddenly

Compounds

95 1.0

An organized visit by students to learn outside the classroom

46 1.6

A journey to a place and back to where you started

guilt trip
  • Informal
13 4.9

A feeling of guilt someone gives you to make you do something

11 1.4

A short journey to a place and back

power trip
  • Offensive
9 7.8

Wanting to feel important by being strict or mean to others

A ticket that lets you travel to a place and back

ego trip
  • Informal
5 7.4

An action you do to make yourself feel more important

3 6.1

A low wire that makes a trap, alarm, or camera go off when someone walks into it

A journey taken to enjoy yourself rather than for work

round trip
  • Specialized
1 3.9

The time it takes for data to go and come back over a network

1 3.4

A short trip to find out about an area

head trip
  • Informal
1 8.7

An intense mental experience that makes you think deeply or feel strong emotions

The best part of a trip that people remember most

1 1.4

A journey across the ocean by ship or boat

trip to Xanadu
  • Literature
1 9.9

A journey to a perfect, beautiful place in your dreams

A sudden journey you make without planning

A journey that includes exciting activities and some risk

round-trip light time
  • Specialized
9.6

The time it takes for a light signal to travel to a spacecraft or planet and back

trip line
  • Archaic
9.1

A thin rope used in logging to free a hook on a log from a safe distance

trip wire
  • Jargon
8.4

A small military force placed to make other forces respond if it is attacked

6.5

A small mistake that causes embarrassment or trouble

How Severe

to collapse
579 3.9
to fall
1.0
to trip
219 2.2
to stumble
129 1.6
misstep
44 5.3

Surface Forms

trip infinitive
tripped past
tripped past participle
tripping present participle
trips third person singular

Etymology

Trip (to cause to stumble) comes from the physical idea of breaking someone's step so they lose balance, which then became a figurative way to make someone fail or be confused. So to trip someone is to make them stumble or to cause them problems.