Definition

1. Noun:
   • A catch mechanism that acts as a switch: A mechanical device designed to release or activate something when a specific condition, such as pressure, is met.
   • A tourist who is visiting sights of interest: A person who is traveling for pleasure, especially one on a short excursion or visit to places of interest.
   • A walker or runner who trips and almost falls: A person who stumbles or catches their foot on something, losing their balance momentarily.
   • (Slang) Someone who has taken a psychedelic drug and is undergoing hallucinations: A person who is experiencing the effects, particularly hallucinations, of a psychoactive substance like LSD.

Usage Examples

• Noun (Mechanism):
  • The safety system includes a tripper that shuts down the machine if it overheats.
  • The pressure activates the tripper and releases the water.
• Noun (Tourist):
  • The city was full of day trippers from the nearby coast.
  • As a frequent tripper, she loved exploring historical landmarks.
• Noun (Person who stumbles):
  • Be careful on that uneven path; you don't want to be a tripper.
  • The clumsy runner was a notorious tripper on the track team.
• Noun (Slang, Drug user):
  • In the 1960s, the park was known as a gathering spot for trippers.
  • He described his experiences as a young tripper experimenting with psychedelics.

Advanced Usage

• "Day tripper": A tourist who visits a place and returns home on the same day.
  • The ferry brings hundreds of day trippers to the island every summer.
• Used in technical contexts to describe a part of a conveyor system that discharges material at a specific point.
  • The conveyor belt uses a tripper to distribute coal evenly into the bunkers.

Variants and Related Words

• Trip (verb/noun): The act of traveling or stumbling; also, the experience induced by a psychedelic drug.
  • They planned a trip to the mountains.
  • He took a bad trip on the psychedelic substance.
• Tripping (adjective/gerund): The act of stumbling or, in slang, experiencing the effects of a hallucinogenic drug.
  • The tripping mechanism failed. (Mechanical)
  • They were tripping on acid. (Slang)

Synonyms

• Tourist: Visitor, sightseer, excursionist.
• Stumbler: Person who trips.
• (Mechanism): Trigger, release, catch.
• (Slang): Psychonaut, user (context-specific).

Related Phrases

• To go tripping: (Slang) To use psychedelic drugs.
  • They spent the weekend going tripping in the desert.
• To trip over: To stumble because of an obstacle.
  • She tripped over the loose cable.

Related Idioms

• A bad trip: (Slang) An unpleasant or frightening experience while under the influence of a psychedelic drug.
  • He had a bad trip and needed someone to calm him down.
• A tripper's trail: A metaphorical path or series of places popular with tourists.
  • The guidebook follows the well-worn tripper's trail through the capital's main attractions.

Noun

1. a catch mechanism that acts as a switch
   • the pressure activates the tripper and releases the water
2. a tourist who is visiting sights of interest
3. a walker or runner who trips and almost falls
4. (slang) someone who has taken a psychedelic drug and is undergoing hallucinations