Learn English – What’s the difference between “trip” and “excursion”

meaning

In the Longman Dictionary, "Excursion" is defined as:

a short journey made for pleasure, usually by several people together

This is similar to "to go on a trip". Is there any difference in meaning between "to go on an excursion" and "to go on a trip"?

We can talk of a school trip to the Science Museum.
Is "excursion" also an option in this case or does "excursion" always involve going as a group to another city rather than to a museum?

Best Answer

Using dictionary.reference.com:

Excursion - a short trip or outing to some place, usually for a special purpose and with the intention of a prompt return

Trip - 1. a journey or voyage: to win a trip to Paris. 2. a journey, voyage, or run made by a boat, train, bus, or the like, between two points: It's a short trip from Baltimore to Philadelphia.

Hence where "excursion" is used for an outing, "trip" is also an acceptable word.

For "trip" definition 1, "excursion" could also be used, provided the trip is short enough. Although it's not explicitly stated in the definitions, I'd suggest that if it is up to a day long then it can be either a trip or an excursion, but if it is longer then it would be a trip. For example, a 3 day visit to Paris might be a trip, but a day's outing to see the Palace of Versailles could be described as either a trip or an excursion.

For "trip" definition 2, "excursion" would not be a valid alternative word. i.e. where you are only talking about the journey in terms of transport, and not in terms of actually "doing anything" at the destination, then "excursion" is not valid.

As noted by @Mrstupid in comments, "trip" is more commonly used than "excursion" in India; in my experience this is true in the UK too; and in JR's experience it is true in the US.

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