tramp Meaning, Definition & Usage

  1. noun a disreputable vagrant
    hobo; bum.
    • a homeless tramp
    • he tried to help the really down-and-out bums
  2. noun a person who engages freely in promiscuous sex
    swinger.
  3. noun a foot traveler; someone who goes on an extended walk (for pleasure)
    hiker; tramper.
  4. noun a heavy footfall
    • the tramp of military boots
  5. noun a commercial steamer for hire; one having no regular schedule
    tramp steamer.
  6. noun a long walk usually for exercise or pleasure
    hike; hiking.
    • she enjoys a hike in her spare time
  7. verb travel on foot, especially on a walking expedition
    • We went tramping about the state of Colorado
  8. verb walk heavily and firmly, as when weary, or through mud
    footslog; trudge; plod; slog; pad.
    • Mules plodded in a circle around a grindstone
  9. verb cross on foot
    • We had to tramp the creeks
  10. verb move about aimlessly or without any destination, often in search of food or employment
    ramble; stray; cast; swan; drift; wander; range; rove; roam; vagabond; roll.
    • The gypsies roamed the woods
    • roving vagabonds
    • the wandering Jew
    • The cattle roam across the prairie
    • the laborers drift from one town to the next
    • They rolled from town to town

WordNet

Tramp transitive verb
Etymology
OE. trampen; akin to LG. trampen, G. trampeln, LG. & D. trappen, Dan. trampe, Sw. & Icel. trampa, Goth. anatrimpan to press upon; also to D. trap a step, G. treppe steps, stairs. Cf. Trap a kind of rock, Trape, Trip, v. i., Tread.
Wordforms
imperfect & past participle Tramped ; present participle & verbal noun Tramping
Definitions
  1. To tread upon forcibly and repeatedly; to trample.
  2. To travel or wander through; as, to tramp the country. Colloq.
  3. To cleanse, as clothes, by treading upon them in water. Scot. Jamieson.
Tramp intransitive verb
Definitions
  1. To travel; to wander; to stroll.
Tramp noun
Definitions
  1. A foot journey or excursion; as, to go on a tramp; a long tramp. Blackie.
  2. A foot traveler; a tramper; often used in a bad sense for a vagrant or wandering vagabond. Halliwell.
  3. The sound of the foot, or of feet, on the earth, as in marching. Sir W. Scott.
  4. A tool for trimming hedges.
  5. A plate of iron worn to protect the sole of the foot, or the shoe, when digging with a spade.

Webster 1913