traverse

Plural: traverses

Noun

a horizontal beam that extends across something
a horizontal crosspiece across a window or separating a door from a window over it
taking a zigzag path on skis
travel across
A route used in mountaineering, specifically rock climbing, in which the descent occurs by a different route than the ascent.
A series of points, with angles and distances measured between, traveled around a subject, usually for use as "control" i.e. angular reference system for later surveying work.
A screen or partition.
Something that thwarts or obstructs.
A gallery or loft of communication from side to side of a church or other large building.
A formal denial of some matter of fact alleged by the opposite party in any stage of the pleadings. The technical words introducing a traverse are absque hoc ("without this", i.e. without what follows).
The zigzag course or courses made by a ship in passing from one place to another; a compound course.
A line lying across a figure or other lines; a transversal.
In trench warfare, a defensive trench built to prevent enfilade.
A traverse board.

Verb

Verb Forms: traversed, traversing, traverses

To pass or move across, over, or through something.
travel across or pass over
to cover or extend over an area or time period; ,
- "Rivers traverse the valley floor"
deny formally (an allegation of fact by the opposing party) in a legal suit
To travel across, to go through, to pass through, particularly under difficult conditions.
To visit all parts of; to explore thoroughly.
To lay in a cross direction; to cross.
To rotate a gun around a vertical axis to bear upon a military target.
To climb or descend a steep hill at a wide angle (relative to the slope).
To (make a cutting, an incline) across the gradients of a sloped face at safe rate.
To act against; to thwart or obstruct.
To pass over and view; to survey carefully.
To plane in a direction across the grain of the wood.
To deny formally.
To use the motions of opposition or counteraction.

Adv

athwart; across; crosswise

Adj

Lying across; being in a direction across something else.

Examples

He needed to TRAVERSE the entire Scrabble board to find a place for his Q.
He will have to traverse the mountain to get to the other side.
He will succeed, as long as there are no unlucky traverses not under his control.
The last run, weary, I traversed the descents in no hurry to reach the lodge.
the road traversed the face of the ridge as the right-of-way climbed the mountain
to traverse a board
to traverse a cannon
to traverse all nodes in a network

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English traversen, from Old French traverser, from Latin trans (“across”) + versus (“turned”), perfect passive participle of Latin vertere (“to turn”).

Synonyms

cover, cross, crossbeam, crosspiece, cut across, cut through, deny, get across, get over, pass over, span, sweep, track, transom, trave, traversal

Scrabble Score: 11

traverse: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
traverse: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
traverse: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 12

traverse: valid Words With Friends Word