Walkabout
noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 A nomadic excursion into the bush, especially one taken by young teenage boys in certain ancient-custom honoring tribes.
- 2 nomadic excursions into the bush made by an Aborigine wordnet
- 3 A walking trip.
- 4 a public stroll by a celebrity to meet people informally wordnet
- 5 A public stroll by some celebrity to meet a group of people informally. British
"While the world altered dramatically during the course of her reign, the monarchy did too, though rather more imperceptibly: the walkabouts that increasingly characterised royal appearances, the pop concerts at Buckingham Palace, the throwing open of the royal palaces to visitors – even the paying of income tax, and royal podcasts – would have been inconceivable as innovations at the time Elizabeth came to the throne."
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- 6 a walking trip or tour wordnet
- 7 An absence, usually from a regular place with a possibility of a return.
Example
More examples"While the world altered dramatically during the course of her reign, the monarchy did too, though rather more imperceptibly: the walkabouts that increasingly characterised royal appearances, the pop concerts at Buckingham Palace, the throwing open of the royal palaces to visitors – even the paying of income tax, and royal podcasts – would have been inconceivable as innovations at the time Elizabeth came to the throne."
Etymology
Deverbal from walk about; the Australian aboriginal word wokabat is also derived therefrom.
Related phrases
More for "walkabout"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.