Word of the Week

ex·pe·di·tion

ˌekspəˈdiSHən/

noun

noun: expedition; plural noun: expeditions

1. 1.

   a journey or voyage undertaken by a group of people with a particular purpose, esp. that of exploration, scientific research, or war.

   "an expedition to the jungles of the Orinoco"

   synonyms:

   journey, voyage, tour, odyssey; More

   • the people involved in an expedition.

     "many of the expedition have passed rigorous courses"

     synonyms:

     group, team, party, crew, band, squad More

2. 2.

   informal

   a short trip made for a particular purpose.

   "a shopping expedition"
3. 3.

   formal

   promptness or speed in doing something.

   "the landlord shall remedy the defects with all possible expedition"

Origin

late Middle English: via Old French from Latin expeditio(n-), from expedire ‘extricate’ (see expedite). Early senses included ‘prompt supply of something’ and ‘setting out with aggressive intent’ The notions of ‘speed’ and ‘purpose’ are retained in current senses.Sense 1 dates from the late 16th cent.