/ tʊə(r); tɔː(r); NAmE tʊr/ noun , verb
■ noun
1.
tour (of / round / around sth) a journey made for pleasure during which several different towns, countries, etc. are visited :
a walking / sightseeing, etc. tour
a coach tour of northern France
a tour operator (= a person or company that organizes tours)
—see also package tour , whistle-stop ➡ note at trip
2.
an act of walking around a town, building, etc. in order to visit it :
We were given a guided tour (= by sb who knows about the place) of the palace.
a tour guide
a tour of inspection (= an official visit of a factory, classroom, etc. made by sb whose job is to check that everything is working as expected)
3.
an official series of visits made to different places by a sports team, an orchestra , an important person, etc. :
The band is currently on a nine-day tour of France.
The band is on tour in France.
a concert tour
The Prince will visit Boston on the last leg (= part) of his American tour.
The soldiers all used to do a six-month tour of duty in Northern Ireland.
■ verb
to travel around a place, for example on holiday / vacation, or to perform, to advertise sth, etc. :
[ vn ]
He toured America with his one-man show.
She toured the country promoting her book.
[ v ]
We spent four weeks touring around Europe.
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WORD ORIGIN
Middle English (originally referring to a tour of duty; also denoting a circular movement): from Old French , turn , via Latin from Greek tornos lathe. Sense 1 dates from the mid 17th cent.