The verb trip, in English, means to catch or knock your foot against something while walking or running and to lose your balance as a result, causing you to fall or almost fall. Example: “I tripped outside and sprained my ankle.” To trip on something means the same as to trip except it is used to name what object a person caught their foot on. Example: “I tripped on a curb outside and sprained my ankle.”
Trip on can also be used to indicate the place where someone tripped, without actually indicated in object someone knocked their food against that caused them to trip. Once can “trip on the lawn” or “trip on a rake lying in the lawn.”
Difference Between Trip On and Trip Over
When an object is being named, there is no difference between trip on and trip over and there are no rules as to which one should be used in a particular circumstances. Examples:
“I tripped on a loose rug and almost hit my head on the coffee table.”
“I tripped over a loose rug and almost hit my head on the coffee table.”
Both these sentences mean the same thing. However, it is not correct to use either trip on or trip over alone, without an object. “I tripped over and hurt my knee” does not sound natural. In this case, “I tripped and hurt my knee,” would be appropriate.
When a place is being named instead of an object, however, only the phrase “trip on” is appropriate. One cannot “trip over the street.”
Trip over is sometimes used alone to mean the same as trip, but to emphasize that one fell as a result. However, this sounds unnatural and most native speakers would use the verb “trip” alone when not naming the object they tripped on or tripped over.
Trip over is also used in the idiom “trip over one’s words,” meaning to have difficulty finding the right words or to speak in a hesitant, stumbling, or unconfident way.
Sentence Examples
“You’d better tie your shoes before you trip on your shoestrings.”
“Be careful not to trip on that uneven floor going into the kitchen. I’m going to fix that soon.”
“I tripped on something. I think it was a root.”
Trip On Meaning Regarding Drugs
To trip on something can also mean to experience the psychotropic effects of a drug, such as audio or visual hallucinations. One can also “have a trip” or “have a bad trip.”
Sentence Examples
“They were both tripping on mushrooms last night when they showed up at the party.”
“I once had a bad trip on peyote. I’ll never touch the stuff again.”