Is it ‘traveling’ or ‘travelling’?
Admin February 20, 2024
Have one or two LS to travel?
If you read different passages of writing, you'll notice that the common past and participial forms of the verb are to travel or to travel. Both spellings are correct. Therefore, the trip may have one or two Ls.
To travel, to travel and to travel are derived from the verb travel which means to go from one place to another. But, as a Canadian who writes mostly for a US audience, I'm confused.
Traveling vs Traveling
Now that you know that travel and travel are both correct, when do you use which?Traveled is the correct American English spelling. This English variant is followed by a single L to simplify the English word. Other examples of simplified American spelling include humor instead of humor and annex instead of annex.
Noah Webster of Webster's Dictionary is a famous person who advocated travel rather than travel. So if you're writing American for an American audience, tell them you've traveled to Europe instead of traveling.
Here are some examples of travel in a sentence.
- How many miles did they travel today?
- I traveled to Germany last month.
- The 2022 Rockefeller Center Christmas Tree arrived at Rockefeller Plaza in New York City after it was cut down from its home in Queensbury, New York and traveled 200 miles to the Big Apple. [today]
British English spelling of travelled. This English form with two Ls is the original spelling of the verb. Travel is more common worldwide. For example, Canada uses travel because it is one of the British Commonwealth countries.
Here are some examples of travel in a sentence.
- The famous explorer traveled around the world.
- He traveled thousands of miles during the presidential campaign.
- Alex Sullivan, an Everton fan who traveled to Qatar to support England during the World Cup, told talkSPORT that "we were having a good time, enjoying ourselves." [mark]
Traveling vs Traveling
Travel vs Travel Rules are the same as travel vs travel.
We use travel as an American English spelling, as recommended by linguist and lexicographer Noah Webster. This remarkable man preferred the shortened version of the word, which many Americans immediately followed.
Here are some examples of travel in a sentence.
- Rory and I were traveling during his birthday.
- Our travel expenses were lower than expected.
- While traveling with his wife, Roxana, and their two young sons during the offseason, Ellis concluded that he was bitter about many aspects of the NBA grind. [Washington Post]
Use the present participle form of travel as in British, Canadian and Australian spelling.
Here are some examples of travel in a sentence.
- I enjoy traveling with my family every summer.
- My travel companion moved to Oklahoma with her husband.
- As every avid traveler knows, there is a lot of testing and research to be done before traveling to a new country. [CN Traveler]
Travel, travel, and travel summary
Although travel is a simple and common English word, its derivative forms can be confusing to even the best English writers. But I hope this guide has helped you understand the difference between travel vs travel and travel vs travel.
Note that travel and travel with a single L are American spellings, while travel and travel with two Ls are British and Canadian spellings.