Definition

1. Noun:
   • The act of moving across or through something: "Traversal" refers to the action of traveling across a surface, area, or obstacle.
   • The act of systematically examining or processing all parts of a set or structure: In computing and mathematics, "traversal" describes the process of visiting all nodes in a data structure (like a tree or graph) or all elements in a set.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The traversal of the mountain range took the explorers two weeks. (The act of traveling across the mountain range took the explorers two weeks.)
  • The algorithm performs an efficient traversal of the binary tree. (The algorithm carries out an efficient process of visiting all nodes in the binary tree.)

Advanced Usage

• "In-order traversal": A specific method for visiting nodes in a binary tree where you visit the left subtree, then the root, then the right subtree.
  • For this binary search tree, an in-order traversal returns the values in sorted order.
• "Graph traversal": The process of visiting all vertices in a graph.
  • Depth-first search is a common technique for graph traversal.

Variants and Related Words

• Traverse (verb): To travel across or through.
  • They had to traverse a dense forest.
• Traversable (adjective): Capable of being crossed or traveled through.
  • The path is only traversable in the summer months.

Synonyms

• Crossing: The action of moving from one side to another.
• Passage: The act or process of moving through or past something.

Related Phrases

• "Complete a traversal": To finish the act of crossing or systematically visiting all items.
  • The team completed the traversal of the desert.
• "Perform a traversal": To execute the process of visiting all nodes or elements.
  • The function will perform a traversal of the linked list.

Related Idioms

(Note: "Traversal" is a technical noun and is not commonly used in idiomatic expressions. Its related verb, "traverse," appears more frequently.) - To traverse the length and breadth of: To travel extensively throughout an area. - He traversed the length and breadth of the country in his research.

Noun

1. travel across
2. taking a zigzag path on skis