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Glite Dictionary
on tour

on tour

85 2.7
A trip in which people travel to give shows or events
  • idiom
translation icon : de gira
  • Remember when we were on tour in Japan, in '86?

He was always either on tour or, or in Barnet.

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Examples

  • You have any idea how lonely it is on tour?

    Challengers (2024)

  • And I'm going to be on tour with Incubus in two days.

  • We will see you on tour for real.

  • So I was on tour during some of that.

    Adam Savage’s Tested

  • I am going on tour again this year.

  • We went to New York, we went on tour, we had a book come out.

  • If you like this video, come see me on tour, my friends.

  • You know, we're both on tour a lot, and it can be difficult, you know.

    Better Man (2024)

  • I went there years ago when my husband's band was on tour.

    Goal! (2005)

  • The band traveled across the country, performing at various venues while on tour.

Synonyms

on the road
vson tour
476 3.4

Travelling from place to place for work, like a band or sports team

is a planned series of performances by a group rather than general work travel
to tour
vson tour
184 1.9

To travel to several places for work or pleasure

is specifically about a group's scheduled series of performances rather than general travel
roadshow
vson tour
3 3.8

A traveling show that visits different towns to perform plays or concerts

focuses on a group's scheduled series of performances rather than a single event
to take the road
vson tour
  • Jargon
6.4

To travel to different towns to perform plays

is an arranged series of group performances across locations
barnstorming
vson tour
  • US
6.7

Exciting public performances given in different places, often by pilots or performers

is about planned scheduled group performances rather than improvised spectacle

How Exciting

barnstorming
  • US
6.7
extravaganza
37 7.5
spectacle
68 4.2
on tour
85 2.7
performance
539 2.7
demonstration
172 2.7

Surface Forms

on tour singular
on tours plural

Morphology

on + tour

The meaning 'traveling from place to place as part of scheduled events' is directly derivable from 'on' (indicating involvement or location) + 'tour' (a trip visiting several places); the preposition+noun composition transparently signals being engaged in a tour. This is a common, cross-linguistic pattern and follows standard English usage, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the meaning.

Etymology

The phrase on tour comes from performers and sports teams who travel from town to town with a planned schedule of shows or games. They were literally moving around on a tour, so today on tour means 'traveling from place to place for scheduled events'.