visit

1.nounA1

Definition

A time when someone travels to see another person or spends time in a particular place.

Example

Zola made a short visit to her aunt in the countryside last weekend.

visit + to + place for social purpose

The art gallery counted over three thousand visits during the festival.

countable: number of visits to a venue

Common collocations

pay a visit
make a visit
short visit
return visit
personal visit

Synonyms

trip
focuses on the travel aspect; often longer
stay
emphasises the time spent somewhere rather than the act of going
call
more formal and usually very brief; old-fashioned in some contexts

Grammar Patterns

visit + to + place/person

a visit + from + person

Usage Note

Countable noun — often used with 'pay' as in 'pay a visit' or 'make' as in 'make a visit'. The preposition 'to' introduces the destination, while 'from' introduces the person arriving.

Common Mistakes

I had a visit at the museum.

I had a visit to the museum.

use 'to' not 'at' after 'a visit' when indicating the destination.

2.nounA2

Definition

A reserved appointment with a physician, attorney, or other qualified specialist whose professional help you need.

Example

Tuan has a dental visit scheduled for next Tuesday afternoon.

specific professional: dental visit

The patient's follow-up visit with the specialist lasted nearly an hour.

follow-up visit + with + specialist

Common collocations

doctor's visit
home visit
follow-up visit
office visit
video visit

Synonyms

appointment
broader — can be for any service, not just professionals
consultation
more formal; focuses on the advice or diagnosis aspect

Grammar Patterns

possessive + visit

visit + to + professional

Usage Note

Commonly preceded by a possessive noun describing the professional (doctor's visit, dentist's visit) or a purpose (home visit, hospital visit). 'Video visit' is a recent usage for remote medical consultations.

Common Mistakes

I made a visit to doctor yesterday.

I made a visit to the doctor yesterday.

add the definite article before the professional role.

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveA1

Definition

To go somewhere for recreation or tourism, or to meet with someone as a friend or family member.

Example

Jiwoo visits her grandmother every Sunday afternoon without fail.

transitive: visit + person, regular action

During their trip to London, the Chen family visited the British Museum and the Tower of London.

transitive: visit + place for sightseeing

Common collocations

visit family
visit friends
visit a museum
visit a country
come to visit
go visit

Synonyms

go to
simpler and more general; not specific to social purposes
see
more informal, always about people not places
call on
more formal, suggests a short and purposeful social visit
stop by
very informal, implies a short and often unplanned visit

Antonyms

leave
the opposite action — departing from a place instead of arriving

Grammar Patterns

visit + place

visit + person

visit (intransitive) for + time

Usage Note

As a transitive verb takes a direct object (visit a museum, visit a friend). As an intransitive verb, it is often followed by 'for' plus a duration or 'with' (US) to indicate the person.

Common Mistakes

I visited to the museum yesterday.

I visited the museum yesterday.

'visit' is transitive and does not need 'to' before the object.

2.verbtransitiveA1

Definition

To open and look at a website using a web browser on a computer, phone, or other device.

Example

Dahlia visits the recipe website every evening to find new dishes to cook.

visit + website for a habitual activity

Over five thousand people visited the company's homepage on the first day of the sale.

passive-like active: people visit + site

Common collocations

visit a website
visit a site
visit a page
visit a blog

Synonyms

go to
informal and more general; 'go to a website' means the same thing
browse
focuses on looking at multiple pages within a website rather than arriving at it

Grammar Patterns

visit + website

visit + site

visit + page

Usage Note

The most common computing-related sense of 'visit'. The object is the web address or site name, not a person. Often used in web analytics: 'unique visitors' means individual people who accessed the site.

Common Mistakes

I visited in your website.

I visited your website.

no preposition 'in' needed; 'visit' + website works directly.

Phrasal verbs

visit upon

phrasal verb

To inflict or impose something unpleasant on someone. Now considered formal or literary.

The harsh winter weather visited heavy snow and power cuts upon the mountain villages.

visit on

phrasal verb

To cause something unpleasant to affect someone.

The storm visited great damage on the coastal town.

Did the judge visit a harsh sentence on the criminal?

visit with

phrasal verb

To talk informally with someone for a short time.

Maya visited with her neighbor over coffee yesterday.

Can you visit with me after the meeting?

Idioms

pay a visit

idiom

To visit someone or somewhere, especially as a polite or formal action.

The manager decided to pay a visit to the new branch office to meet the staff.

visit with

idiom

To spend time talking informally with someone; to chat socially. Used mainly in American English.

After the meeting, Kasia stayed behind to visit with a few colleagues she had not seen in months.

Word family

visitor
nounA1
visitation
nounC1
visiting
adjectiveB1
revisit
verbB2
visitable
adjectiveC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

These four alternatives all relate to going somewhere to be with someone or see something, but they differ in formality, purpose, and duration. 'Go to' is the most neutral and general — you can go to a shop, a city, or a friend's house. 'See' is informal and almost always about people ('I'll see you tomorrow'), rarely used for places. 'Call on' is more formal and suggests a planned, often short visit out of courtesy — a politician might call on supporters, or a neighbour might call on a new family. 'Stop by' is the most casual, implying a brief, sometimes unannounced drop-in: you stop by a friend's house on your way home. For day-to-day English, 'go to' and 'see' cover most situations; 'call on' suits formal letters or professional contexts, and 'stop by' works for spontaneous social visits.

go to ↗see ↗call on ↗stop by ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

visit a friend
visit a place
visit a country
visit a museum
visit a website

Adverbs

Phrases

pay a visit
return a visit
on a visit

Prepositions

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchEnglish

The word 'visit' entered English from Old French 'visiter', which came from Latin 'visitare', meaning 'to go to see, to view'. The Latin root 'visitare' is a frequentative form of 'videre', which means 'to see'. So the original idea behind 'visit' is 'to go and see' — a meaning that has stayed very close to the modern word. It first appeared in English during the 13th century, mostly in religious contexts (a bishop visiting a parish), and gradually broadened to any social or sightseeing trip, and eventually to digital spaces such as websites.

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visit

visit — noun

1. A time when someone travels to see another person or spends time in a particular

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. A reserved appointment with a physician, attorney, or other qualified specialist

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

visit — verb

1. To go somewhere for recreation or tourism, or to meet with someone as a friend o

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

2. To open and look at a website using a web browser on a computer, phone, or other

Grammar Patterns

Usage Note

Common Mistakes

visit upon

visit on

visit with

pay a visit

visit with

Word family

Synonym discussion

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

Prepositions

Etymology

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