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Definition of round trip

Examples of round trip in a sentence.

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'round trip.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

1837, in the meaning defined above

Dictionary Entries Near round trip

round-trip ticket

Cite this Entry

“Round trip.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary , Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/round%20trip. Accessed 19 Jul. 2024.

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Nglish: Translation of round trip for Spanish Speakers

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What is a Round Trip Flight? (Everything You Should Know)

A round-trip flight is when you fly from somewhere and then return to that original location.

When you book a round-trip flight, you receive a single ticket that covers both the outbound and inbound legs of the journey.

Round-trip flights are usually cheaper than booking multiple one-way flights, especially for international destinations. But you sacrifice flexibility and have to pay more upfront for a round-trip ticket.

Rescheduling round-trip flights can also be both difficult and expensive. 

Round-trip flights can include layovers and connecting flights . But as long as the start and end points are the same, it’s a round-trip flight. 

Table of Contents

• 1 How Round Trip Flights Work
• 2 Round Trip Flights Are Cheaper than One Way Flights
• 3 You Don’t Have to Fly Both Legs
• 4 How Long You Can Stay on a Round Trip Ticket
• 5.1 1. Lower Costs
• 5.2 2. Lower Taxes
• 5.3 3. Fewer Cancellation Fees
• 5.4 4. Vouchers
• 6.1 1. Changing the date can be more expensive
• 6.2 2. Expensive domestic flights
• 6.3 3. High Upfront Costs
• 6.4 4. Automatic Itinerary Cancellations
• 6.5 5. Decreased Flexibility
• 7 One-Way and Open-Jaw Flights

How Round Trip Flights Work

A round-trip flight includes a flight from your original location, let’s call ‘A,’ to your destination, let’s call ‘B,’ as well as a flight from B back to A. 

With a round-trip ticket, you get a flight to B, where you’ll stay for as long as you like before going back to A. 

Round-trip flights are the most popular flights for travelers who are flying for a vacation.

Round Trip Flights Are Cheaper than One Way Flights

Round trips are almost always cheaper than one-way flights when booking with the same airline, with most airlines incentivizing round trips, especially for leisure travel, and especially to international destinations. 

For example:

• A round trip from London to New York may cost $1,000.
• A one-way trip to New York City from London might cost $600, and a one-way trip from London to New York City may also cost $600.
• In this example, you’d save $200 by choosing a round trip with the same airline rather than booking two separate flights. 

But it could be cheaper for you to fly with two different airlines.

Let’s say you find a British Airways flight from London to New York City for $600. But you also find a Delta Air Lines flight from New York City to London for only $300. 

In that case, you’d save $100 by buying two one-way flights from different airlines. 

You Don’t Have to Fly Both Legs

You’re not technically obligated to fly both legs of a round-trip flight.

If you fly the first leg from your location to the destination, you could stay there longer and miss the return flight if you wanted to.

But airlines dislike this behavior and may penalize your flying privileges if you do this repeatedly. 

If you miss the first leg of your round-trip flight, the airline will most likely automatically cancel the return flight, too. 

How Long You Can Stay on a Round Trip Ticket

You can stay on a round-trip flight for as little as one day to as long as a year.

The exact duration you can stay depends on the airline’s booking policies and flight availability. 

Pros of Round Trip Flights

1. lower costs.

Round trips from the same airlines are almost always cheaper than booking two one-way flights.

Round trips for international flights are especially cheaper than purchasing two one-way tickets from the same airline. 

2. Lower Taxes

You only have to pay sales tax once with a round-trip flight.

That’s because you only have to pay for one ticket, which includes both your flights. 

3. Fewer Cancellation Fees

You’ll only be charged a single cancellation fee if you cancel a round-trip flight.

But if you cancel two one-way flights, you’ll pay cancellation fees for both flights. 

4. Vouchers

You can save a lot of money on round-trip flights if you have a voucher, like a companion voucher from a credit card.

You’ll save more when booking round-trip flights, since an individual round-trip flight costs more than an individual one-way flight.

And vouchers can only be used once and are usually a percentage discount. 

Cons of Round Trip Flights

1. changing the date can be more expensive.

Changing the dates for a round-trip flight costs between $0 to $400.

In some cases, it could be so expensive that you’d be better off missing a flight and booking a new one-way flight instead. 

2. Expensive domestic flights

Round-trip domestic flights with the same airline could be more expensive than booking multiple one-way domestic flights with different airlines.

Most airlines are more price competitive for domestic routes rather than international ones. 

3. High Upfront Costs

You have to pay more up-front for a round-trip flight than when booking a one way flight.

4. Automatic Itinerary Cancellations

If you miss the first leg of your round trip, the airline may also cancel your return trip, and you will lose your money.

5. Decreased Flexibility

You have to meet the scheduled flight date and times for a round trip flight.

Whereas with multiple one-way trips, you could just book your return flight whenever you want while at your destination. 

You can technically change your return flight for a round-trip, but it’s often expensive and difficult. 

One-Way and Open-Jaw Flights

A one-way flight is a flight from one destination to another destination that doesn’t include a return flight.

An open-jaw flight i s when you travel from your location to a first destination.

Then you travel to a different subsequent destination(s) and return to your original location from one of the subsequent destinations. 

For example, you could fly from New York to Paris. Then drive from Paris to Berlin and fly from Berlin back to New York.

In conclusion:

• A round-trip flight is when you fly from your location to another destination, and then fly back to your original location.
• With a round-trip flight, you purchase one ticket, which gives you an inbound and outbound flight.
• Round-trip flights are most popular among tourists.
• Booking a round-trip flight has many advantages over booking multiple one-way flights.
• Most importantly, round-trip flights are almost always cheaper than multiple one-way flights, especially for international destinations.
• Round trip flights are also more convenient for people who are only traveling a short time, such as for a vacation.
• But round trip flights are less flexible and more expensive to alter. 

See Also: A Complete Guide to Airline Operations

Ella Dunham

Ella Dunham, a Freelance Travel Journalist and Marketing Manager, boasts an impressive career spanning eight years in the travel and tourism sectors.

Honored as one of "30 Under 30" by TTG Media (the world’s very first weekly travel trade newspaper), a "Tour Operator Travel Guru" and "Legend Award" winner, Ella is also a Fellow of the Institute of Travel, a Member of the Association of Women Travel Executives, has completed over 250 travel modules, and hosts travel-focused segments on national radio shows where she provides insights on travel regulations and destinations.

Ella has visited over 40 countries (with 10 more planned this year).

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round trip noun , adjective , & adverb

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What does the word round trip mean?

There are seven meanings listed in OED's entry for the word round trip . See ‘Meaning & use’ for definitions, usage, and quotation evidence.

This word is used in North American English.

round trip has developed meanings and uses in subjects including

How common is the word round trip ?

How is the word round trip pronounced, british english, u.s. english, where does the word round trip come from.

Earliest known use

The earliest known use of the word round trip is in the late 1700s.

OED's earliest evidence for round trip is from 1792, in Adams's Weekly Courant .

round trip is formed within English, by compounding.

Etymons: round adj. , trip n. 1

Nearby entries

• round tilth, n. 1723–
• round timber, n. 1656–
• round tire, n. 1560–1657
• round-toed, adj. 1665–
• round tool, n. 1688–
• round top, n. & adj. 1661–
• round towel, n. 1724–
• round tower, n. 1790–
• round-towner, n. 1775–
• round trade, n. c1810–
• round trip, n., adj., & adv. 1792–
• round-trip, v. 1899–
• round-tripper, n. 1881–
• round-tripping, n. 1907–
• round-trussed, adj. 1600–1829
• round turn, n. 1611–
• round turnip, n. 1599–
• roundup, n. 1769–
• roundure, n. 1600–
• roundward, adv. & adj. 1842–
• roundway, adj. 1833–

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Meaning & use

Pronunciation, compounds & derived words, entry history for round trip, n., adj., & adv..

round trip, n., adj., & adv. was revised in March 2011.

round trip, n., adj., & adv. was last modified in July 2023.

oed.com is a living text, updated every three months. Modifications may include:

• further revisions to definitions, pronunciation, etymology, headwords, variant spellings, quotations, and dates;
• new senses, phrases, and quotations.

Revisions and additions of this kind were last incorporated into round trip, n., adj., & adv. in July 2023.

Earlier versions of this entry were published in:

A Supplement to the New English Dictionary (1933)

• Find out more

OED Second Edition (1989)

• View round trip in OED Second Edition

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Citation details

Factsheet for round trip, n., adj., & adv., browse entry.

What is the difference between a round trip and a circle trip?

Circle trip, 1. can i change my return date on a round trip ticket, 2. are round trip tickets always cheaper than one-way tickets, 3. can i make stops at different cities on a round trip ticket, 4. are circle trips more expensive than round trips, 5. can i combine a round trip and a circle trip, 6. can i book a circle trip online, 7. do i need a visa for each destination on a circle trip, 8. are there any restrictions on the duration of a circle trip, 9. can i make changes to my itinerary during a circle trip, 10. are there any specific travel insurance options for circle trips, 11. can i book a circle trip with different modes of transportation, 12. are there any recommended resources for planning a circle trip, what is the difference between a round trip and a circle trip.

A round trip and a circle trip are two common terms used in the travel industry to describe different types of journeys. While both involve returning to the starting point, they have distinct characteristics and purposes. Understanding the difference between these terms can help travelers make informed decisions when planning their trips.

A round trip refers to a journey from one location to another and then back to the original starting point. It typically involves booking a flight, train, or any other mode of transportation that covers the outbound and inbound segments. For example, if you plan to fly from New York to London and then return to New York, it would be considered a round trip.

One of the key advantages of a round trip is that it offers convenience and often cost savings. Airlines and other transportation providers usually offer discounted fares for travelers booking a round trip ticket. This means that the overall cost of the journey is lower compared to booking separate one-way tickets.

Additionally, a round trip provides a sense of continuity and convenience, as travelers know their return journey is already arranged. It eliminates the need to search for transportation options at the destination for the return trip, reducing travel-related stress.

A circle trip, on the other hand, is a more complex type of journey that involves visiting multiple destinations in a loop or circuit. It may include stops at various cities or countries before returning to the starting point. Unlike a round trip, a circle trip does not necessarily follow a direct route between the origin and destination.

Circle trips are especially popular among travelers who want to explore and experience multiple destinations within a single trip. They allow for greater flexibility and the opportunity to visit diverse locations.

While a circle trip offers more freedom and exploration, it can also be more time-consuming and expensive. Planning and coordinating transportation, accommodations, and activities in multiple destinations requires careful research and organization. It is essential to consider the distances between the various stops and plan for adequate travel time.

FAQs about Round Trips and Circle Trips:

Yes, most airlines allow passengers to change their return date on a round trip ticket, but it may be subject to additional fees or fare differences.

In many cases, round trip tickets are cheaper than booking separate one-way tickets. However, this can vary depending on the airline, destination, and specific travel dates.

Most airlines allow passengers to make stops at different cities on a round trip ticket, but it may be subject to certain conditions and additional fees.

Circle trips can be more expensive than round trips, as they involve visiting multiple destinations. However, this depends on the specific itinerary, transportation options, and accommodations chosen.

Yes, it is possible to combine a round trip with a circle trip. This allows travelers to visit multiple destinations before returning to their starting point.

Yes, many travel booking websites and agencies offer the option to book circle trips. It is recommended to use websites that specialize in multi-destination itineraries or consult a travel agent for assistance.

The visa requirements for each destination on a circle trip may vary. It is important to check the visa requirements of each country you plan to visit and apply for the necessary visas in advance.

The duration of a circle trip can vary depending on personal preferences and individual travel plans. Some travelers may opt for shorter trips, while others may plan longer journeys to fully explore each destination.

Yes, it is possible to make changes to your itinerary during a circle trip. However, this may be subject to availability and potential fees or fare differences.

Many travel insurance providers offer coverage for circle trips. It is important to review the policy details and ensure that it provides sufficient coverage for multi-destination travel.

Yes, circle trips can involve combining different modes of transportation, such as flights, trains, buses, or ferries, depending on the destinations and preferences of the traveler.

Many online resources and travel blogs provide useful tips, itineraries, and recommendations for planning a circle trip. It is advisable to research and gather information from reliable sources before finalizing your itinerary.

By understanding the difference between a round trip and a circle trip, travelers can make informed decisions and plan memorable journeys that suit their preferences and travel goals. Whether opting for convenience and cost savings with a round trip or seeking adventure and exploration with a circle trip, each type of journey offers unique experiences that contribute to a fulfilling travel experience.

About The Author

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Definition of round trip in Essential American English Dictionary

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(Definition of round trip from the Webster's Essential Mini Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

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• 1.1 Etymology
• 1.2.1 Antonyms
• 1.2.2 Coordinate terms
• 1.2.3 Derived terms
• 1.2.4 Translations
• 1.3 Anagrams

round ( “ complete, entire"; "forming a circle or cycle ” ) +‎ trip ( “ journey ” )

round trip ( plural round trips )

• 1950 July, J. G. Gibbons, “Sightseeing on the Inner Circle”, in Railway Magazine , page 485 : The fare for this sightseeing tour of London is about 1s., but it is necessary to rebook at least once, as through tickets are not issued for the round trip .
• 2014 , Exploring Tech Careers: Fourth Edition (page 632), Ferguson Publishing As drilling progresses, the bit gets more and more worn, till eventually it has to be replaced. In order for the bit to be replaced, the whole string has to be lugged up to the surface and taken apart section by section. Once done, the string can be put back together and the bit lowered to the well once again. This operation, called a round trip , takes most drilling crews 12 hours to complete.
• ( finance ) A form of barter that involves the sale of an unused asset and the purchase of the same asset back again, or a similar one, typically used in accounting fraud . Synonym: lazy Susan
• ( finance ) The investment of a borrowed overdraft in order to make a profit in the same market .
• ( computing ) The export and eventual reimport of a file, data, etc. without loss of fidelity .

Coordinate terms

• there and back

Derived terms

• round-trip delay time
• round-trippable
• round-tripper
• round-trip ticket
• round-trip time

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• English countable nouns
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What Does Round Trip Mean? | 5 Types of Fares You Should Know About

What does round trip mean? A round trip, as the name suggests, means traveling from one point to another and then returning back to the same starting point, usually via the same route.

This is considered to be a better way of booking tickets, if you have a fixed schedule, rather than booking two separate one-way tickets. And a round trip ticket generally costs a little less than two one-way tickets.

This works for both domestic and international travel. Airlines provide an option to book a round trip ticket for international flights, and may also give certain discounts or special offers on such bookings.

All you have to do is select the starting point of the journey and the destination.

Next is to fill in the date for the travel to the destination, and then fill in the date when you want to return from the destination.

Some airlines also provide an option to select a particular flight if there are multiple flights at different timings for the same destination.

Once done, you will have booked the tickets both to and from your destination.

While this can be one of the ways to travel , there are few other options which can make your travel convenient, fun, and maybe even cheaper.

Let’s have a look at them.

One way Trip

One of the most preferred ways of traveling is the one-way trip.

It is the easiest to book, and many find it convenient.

A one-way trip simply means that you travel from a starting point straight to the destination.

This is obviously the only way to travel if you are planning on staying at the destination place for an indefinite amount of time, or are moving from one city/country to another.

For shorter distances, a one-way ticket can be one of the cheaper options. But for longer travels or international travels, it may not be the best.

Apart from that, it does provide a little flexibility to the traveler.

If you have traveled to a place, on a one-way ticket, for a scheduled amount of days and wish to extend your trip or cut it short, you have the option to book another one-way ticket from your destination back to your home.

This is one of the advantages of booking a one way trip ticket.

Open Jaw Trip

Open jaw trips are one of the less used ways to travel but are really a very convenient and possibly cheap travel option when you are traveling to more than two different places which are relatively closer to each other, and then have to return back to your home. The traveling pattern usually looks like its name.

An open jaw or a triangular pattern to be precise. For example, you want to travel to Italy and visit a few cities on your trip before returning back.

One way of booking tickets for the trip would be a round trip ticket. But the problem here is, you will have to choose a destination, let’s say Venice, and then wherever you are in Italy, you’ll need to come back to Venice to catch your flight back home. This can be a little cumbersome.

To avoid this, you can book an open jaw ticket.

Which means you travel from your home airport to Venice. And whichever city you are supposed to be on the last day of your trip, book a flight back home from that city. In this case, after landing in Venice, you can catch a flight back from Rome.

This allows you to have a flexible trip and save you the money and the efforts to go back to Venice from Rome.

An open jaw ticket can be easily booked using the multi city booking option on any of the flight booking platforms.

Round the World (RTW) Trip

If you want to travel from one place to another with multiple stops and then back home, a Round the World trip is just what you need.

RTW trips are very beneficial when it comes to long haul trips covering multiple cities or countries.

These types of flights allow you to travel to several different places on a single ticket.

You can book a ticket for a trip to Australia from Europe with a few stops along the trip, or you can choose to travel to 3 or 4 different continents before returning back home.

These flights provide stopovers and no layovers.

This means that at a particular stop, you can go out of the airport and explore the city in the time you have left until your flight out. RTW tickets are known to be cheaper when compared to round trips or multi city tickets.

That’s because your ticket will also include a return back to your home airport.

Many alliances offer such kinds of ticket packages, which also includes a specific plan for every city you have a stop at.

Round Robin Trip

Round robin trips are basically the same as open jaw trips or round the world trips.

They allow you to book multi-stop itineraries on a single booking.

You can choose to travel from your point of origin to one destination and then take a flight back home from another destination.

This is similar to the open jaw booking. You can also choose to Travel to a destination with multiple stops along the trip. But unlike round the world trips, you have the option to choose how many stopovers you want and where.

This way round robin bookings provides a little more flexibility over round the world trips.

They can also save you some money by letting you travel to multiple places on a single ticket.

The trip starts from your point of origin and ends on the same place. Which means you don’t have to book a separate flight back home.

The only issue is that if you wish to extend or cut a trip short, you cannot do that with round robin bookings.

In such a case, you will have to make separate bookings according to your plans.

Multi city Trip

Multi city trips are what covers all the three- open jaw, round the world, and round-robin trips. As the name suggests, multi city trips include stops at multiple cities between your point of origin and your destination.

You can add multiple stops along your trip if you wish to visit those cities, just like you do in around the world booking.

You can also plan to travel to a destination, and return to your home from a different airport, just like an open-jaw trip.

Multi city trips allow stopovers, which are usually longer than 24 hours, where you can go out of the airport and explore.

But it also allows creating layovers, which can be as short as 30 minutes to as long as 23 hours.

Majority of the time, you are not allowed to leave the airport considering the short amount of time. You can book such flights directly via airlines or any agencies.

Depending on the destination and the number of stops or layovers, the prices may vary. Multi city flights can be advantageous if you are planning to take a long trip and want to visit more places with little flexibility.

They also allow you to set your itinerary according to your plan, unlike the planned packages provided on round the world trips by alliances.

Essentially, round the world, open jaw, and round robin trip are very similar to each other and branch out of the multi-city trip system.

All of them, in one way or another, allow you to travel to more than one place on a single booking, and also bring you back to your point of origin.

What kind of trip to choose majorly depends on what kind of trip you have planned.

If you have a limited number of places to visit that are a little closer to each other, an open-jaw trip is perfect for you. But if you want to travel to multiple cities or continents, and be able to spend some time exploring, round-robin or multi-city trips would be the best choice.

In such cases, round the world trips can also be given preference, but if you go with a certain package deal, then it limits your choice in terms of the places you can go to.

If you are not very good at planning a trip or are uncertain of the places to visit and the things to experience once you visit them, then around the world trip is the best choice.

You will not have to worry about selecting the number of places to visit, and the things to do over there.

And lastly, depending on your budget and plans, you can also choose from either a round trip or a one-way trip.

The former allows you to book a trip from your origin point to the destination and back, without having to worry about booking a separate ticket.

Whereas, a one-way ticket is the best when you are uncertain about your return plans.

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• donald trump

Trump Jr. says father is 'changed man'

One spectator was killed and two were critically hurt in Saturday's shooting.

Federal authorities are investigating after former President Donald Trump was shot in the ear in an assassination attempt at an election rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday.

Blood splattered on Trump's face as Secret Service agents surrounded him and led him off the stage to a waiting vehicle to whisk him away. Trump is "fine," a spokesperson said.

The alleged shooter was killed by snipers. Corey Comperatore , a firefighter and a father of two daughters, died in the shooting Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said. Two other people who attended the rally were also injured.

Key Headlines

• Jul 16, 2024, 8:00 PM GMT Trump has spoken to relative of man killed at rally
• Jul 16, 2024, 7:15 PM GMT Trump Jr. recalls moment he learned father was shot
• Jul 16, 2024, 3:34 PM GMT Injured victim shot in chest, liver; out of medically induced coma
• Jul 16, 2024, 10:33 AM GMT Suspected gunman purchased 50 rounds of ammunition day of shooting: Officials

Timeline: How the Trump assassination attempt unfolded

Click here for a timeline of events from the harrowing and deadly scene at the campaign rally for Donald Trump.

Click here for the latest stories and videos on the investigation into the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump.

Family of critically injured rally victim releases statement

The family of James Copenhaver, one of the two men critically injured in the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump, released a statement Tuesday, thanking the public for their "outpouring of support."

"Jim would like to especially thank the first responders, medics, and hospital staff who have provided him with initial and continuing care," the statement read. "Additionally, Jim would like to express his thoughts and prayers for the other victims, their families, and President Trump. He prays for a safe and speedy recovery for them all."

Copenhaver, 74, of Moon Township, Pennsylvania, "remains in critical but stable condition" as of Tuesday afternoon. He is being treated at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh.

His family has requested privacy as he recovers.

"The Copenhaver family would like to thank you for your continued thoughts, prayers, and support as Jim and his family recover from this horrible, senseless, and unnecessary act of violence," they said.

Scalise says Secret Service director should resign

House Majority Leader Steve Scalise said he believes Secret Service Director Kim Cheatle should resign.

"I've been very disappointed in her and her lack of candor," Scalise told Politico. "I think the American people need to see whatever the answers are. Tough questions, you got to take the tough questions. You take a position like that ... you can't have a bad day."

Scalise said the Secret Service "should have been out publicly right away" and addressing the press after the shooting.

"You had the local law enforcement giving a press conference, frankly, being asked questions that the head of the Secret Service should have been asked," he said. "And she, you know, kind of was nowhere to be found during that period, and yet they took those tough questions. She's got to answer tough questions. You can't hide from them."

Scalise was shot and wounded at a congressional baseball practice in 2017.

Click here for U.S. Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle's first network interview following the attempted assassination.

Trump has spoken to relative of man killed at rally

Former President Donald Trump has spoken to a family member of Corey Comperatore, the 50-year-old firefighter who was killed at Saturday's rally, a source told ABC News.

Comperatore leaves behind a wife and two daughters. His funeral is set for Thursday.

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Definition of round trip noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

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By Simon J. Levien

Donald J. Trump has gone to great lengths to distance himself from Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals for a future Republican administration that has outraged Democrats. He has claimed he knows nothing about it or the people involved in creating it.

Mr. Trump himself was not behind the project. But some of his allies were.

The document, its origins and the interplay between it and the Trump campaign have made for one of the most hotly debated questions of the 2024 race.

Here is what to know about Project 2025, and who is behind it.

What is Project 2025?

Project 2025 was spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and like-minded conservative groups before Mr. Trump officially entered the 2024 race. The Heritage Foundation is a think tank that has shaped the personnel and policies of Republican administrations since the Reagan presidency.

The project was intended as a buffet of options for the Trump administration or any other Republican presidency. It’s the latest installment in the Heritage Foundation’s Mandate for Leadership series, which has compiled conservative policy proposals every few years since 1981. But no previous study has been as sweeping in its recommendations — or as widely discussed.

Kevin Roberts, the head of the Heritage Foundation, which began putting together the latest document in 2022, said he thought the American government would embrace a more conservative era, one that he hoped Republicans would usher in.

“We are in the process of the second American Revolution,” Mr. Roberts said on Real America’s Voice, a right-wing cable channel, in early July, adding pointedly that the revolt “will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”

A representative for Project 2025 said it did not speak for any candidate, adding that “it is ultimately up to that president, who we believe will be President Trump, to decide which recommendations to implement.”

What does Project 2025 propose?

Much of the plan’s nearly 900 pages detail extreme executive-branch overhauls. Among many recommendations, Project 2025 lays out plans for criminalizing pornography, disbanding the Commerce and Education departments, rejecting the idea of abortion as health care and shredding climate protections.

It calls out the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which includes the National Weather Service, as “one of the main drivers of the climate change alarm industry.” And it backs deploying the military “to assist in arrest operations” along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Beyond the policy proposals, something else comes up over and over again in the document — Mr. Trump and the Trump administration, which are mentioned hundreds of times.

What are Trump’s ties to Project 2025?

Project 2025 is led by the Heritage Foundation. It does not directly come from Mr. Trump. But that’s only part of the story.

Portions of the plan were driven by people who were top advisers to Mr. Trump during his first term and would most likely serve in prominent roles if he wins in November.

Russell T. Vought, Mr. Trump’s former budget director, led a section of Project 2025 that dealt with executive orders. Mr. Vought is the policy director for the Republican National Convention, and the national party is controlled by Trump allies. The party on Monday adopted a new policy platform that reflect priorities laid out on the Trump campaign website. Another person involved in Project 2025 is John McEntee, a former White House personnel chief who began Mr. Trump’s systematic attempt to sweep out officials deemed to be disloyal in 2020.

Mr. Trump has recently gone to great lengths to distance himself from the project, even falsely claiming that he knows nothing about it or people involved in it.

Mr. Trump wrote in a post on his social media site on Friday that he knew nothing about Project 2025 but also that he disagreed with parts of it: “Some of the things they’re saying are absolutely ridiculous and abysmal.” He did not specify which items he was talking about.

What are Trump’s plans for a second term?

The former president has been historically disengaged, even hostile, toward any type of transition planning for a possible second term.

But he has made no secret about his plans to gut civil-service protections, conduct the largest mass deportation effort in history, impose sweeping tariffs and target his enemies using presidential powers. His allies have developed a legal rationale to erase the Justice Department’s independence from the president, and several of his closest advisers are now vetting lawyers seen as more likely to embrace aggressive legal theories about the scope of his power .

Some of this, though not all of it, can be found in the Trump campaign’s own policy platform called Agenda47 . It is more sparse than Project 2025. And even though Agenda47 is his campaign’s official list of policy priorities, Mr. Trump himself rarely mentions Agenda47 by name on the campaign trail.

Mr. Trump won in 2016 in part by saying any number of things, some of them contradictory, about policy, letting different people hear what they wanted in his words. In keeping with that approach, the Republican Party platform released Monday presents a less-specific agenda he directly approved that he can point to. The platform reflects a softening on abortion — the issue he views as his biggest vulnerability after the Supreme Court’s decision overturning Roe v. Wade.

How do the Trump campaign plans and Project 2025 differ, and overlap?

There are a few ways the two plans differ.

One is on abortion. Project 2025 takes an aggressive approach to curtailing abortion rights, stating that the federal Health and Human Services Department “should return to being known as the Department of Life” (it was never known by that name) and that the next conservative president “has a moral responsibility to lead the nation in restoring a culture of life in America again.” Agenda47, however, does not mention abortion once.

Mr. Trump’s public position on abortion has regularly shifted. When he ran in 2016, he pledged to install justices who would overturn Roe v. Wade. He called the ruling that overturned it “a great thing” at the presidential debate this year. He also said at the debate that abortion rights should be decided on a state-by-state basis.

Despite the differences, there are numerous similarities. One overlap: eroding the independence of the Justice Department. Mr. Trump has frequently criticized the legitimacy of the department’s investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election. Project 2025 argues that the department suffers from bureaucratic bloat and must be reined in, teeming with employees committed to a “radical liberal agenda.” On immigration, Mr. Trump has made no secret of his plans to hold the largest mass deportation effort in history. Project 2025, likewise, suggested the removal of any and all “immigration violators.”

The campaign and Project 2025 also share equal demands to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs and the “toxic normalization of transgenderism” as Project 2025 calls it. In many rallies, Mr. Trump asserts he will “keep men out of women’s sports.”

On international policy, Mr. Trump and Project 2025 both emphasize a protectionist outlook, often called “America First” policies by the Trump campaign. Sections in Project 2025 and in Agenda47 both suggest higher tariffs on competitors, and increasing competition with China.

One of Project 2025’s proposals to turn more federal jobs over to appointees loyal to the president mirrors a Trump-era policy. The back story: During Mr. Trump’s presidency, he issued an executive order making it easier to fire career officials and replace them with loyalists. Mr. Biden rescinded the order, known as Schedule F , but Mr. Trump has said he would reissue it if he wins a second term. Project 2025 also calls for Schedule F to be reinstated.

What are Democrats saying about Project 2025?

President Biden’s campaign and his supporters have yoked Project 2025 around Mr. Trump’s neck, repeatedly warning that it is his shadow platform and that it is evidence of an extreme second-term agenda. They have called it an authoritarian blueprint in an onslaught of news releases, social media posts and TV appearances.

In a rarity for an in-the-weeds policy memo, Project 2025 has made its way into the wider public, drawing condemnations on late-night shows, podcasts and awards programs. Since February, @BidenHQ , the campaign’s social media account, has posted about Project 2025 hundreds of times, associating it with Mr. Trump. The effort has received more engagement than most of the account’s posts, according to a Biden campaign official.

“Project 2025 should scare every single American,” Mr. Biden said in a statement. “It would give Trump limitless power over our daily lives.”

Late last month, John Oliver, the host of “Last Week Tonight,” dedicated a nearly 30-minute segment to criticizing Project 2025 and dissecting its dangers; it received over seven million views on YouTube. Taraji P. Henson, the actress and Biden campaign surrogate, encouraged people to vote against Republicans in a speech at the BET Awards by focusing on Project 2025.

Elected Democrats, particularly those on the left, have used the project to highlight the dangers of a second Trump term. Liberal members of Congress like Ayanna S. Pressley of Massachusetts have taken to news programs and congressional hearings to highlight what they say is Mr. Trump’s unspoken platform.

At a June 11 hearing , Ms. Pressley called Project 2025 “a far-right manifesto” that would “destroy the federal government as we know it.”

What are Trump’s aides and other Republicans saying about Project 2025?

Last year, after Project 2025 gained traction in the media and the Biden campaign incorporated it as a core part of its messaging, top Trump campaign officials issued a statement.

Mr. Trump’s top aides, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, said in a December statement that unless indicated by campaign staff or the former president directly, “no aspect of future presidential staffing or policy announcements should be deemed official.”

Ms. Wiles and Mr. LaCivita have been continually frustrated with press coverage of Project 2025. They see much of it as potentially damaging in a general election. They are especially anxious about anything to do with restrictions on abortion, a sign that Mr. Trump is trying to appear more moderate on the issue as his focus shifts from the G.O.P. primary concerns of his base to the broader electorate in November.

Following the overturning of Roe, a decision put in place by conservative justices he appointed, Mr. Trump has grown ever more convinced that hard-line abortion restrictions are electoral poison. The new official Republican Party platform, which Mr. Trump directly approved, significantly waters down the abortion section compared with the 2016 and 2020 G.O.P. platform.

Beyond the abortion issue, many conservatives do not contest the radical nature of Project 2025, and they embrace the publicity.

Steve Bannon, a close Trump ally, told ABC News in late June, before he reported to federal prison to begin a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress, that Project 2025 would “take apart the administrative state brick by brick” as he brandished a copy of the report.

Michael Gold and Neil Vigdor contributed reporting.

Simon J. Levien is a Times political reporter covering the 2024 elections and a member of the 2024-25 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers. More about Simon J. Levien

Keep Up With the 2024 Election

The presidential election is 118 days away . Here’s our guide to the run-up to Election Day.

Tracking the Polls. The state of the race, according to polling data.

Campaign Tracker. How the candidates are spending their time on the campaign trail.

Can Democrats Replace Biden? While it is possible, it could lead to political upheaval.

Trump’s 2025 Plans. Trump is preparing to radically reshape the government.

Who was Thomas Matthew Crooks? What we know about the Donald Trump rally shooter

A 20-year-old man from Pennsylvania has been identified as the suspect who attempted to assassinate Donald Trump at a political rally in the United States, law enforcement officials said.

Thomas Matthew Crooks has been named as the "subject involved" in the incident, the FBI said in a statement.

Crooks, who was killed by Secret Service snipers at the scene, was from Bethel Park, close to where the rally was held on Saturday local time.

Bethel Park School District confirmed in a statement that Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022. 

This is what we know so far about the suspect and how the shooting played out. 

What do we know about the shooter?

Mr Trump was injured when multiple shots were fired at the stage, but the former president's campaign says he is doing "fine".

One attendee was killed and two critically injured in the incident, according to authorities. 

Crooks had not been attending the rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

He is suspected of carrying out the attack from a rooftop on a building outside the event.

Witnesses said they alerted police to a gunman on the roof of the building, which was about 120 metres away from the stage where Mr Trump began giving an address at around 6:02pm (8:02am Sunday AEST).

They spotted the suspected shooter several minutes before shots rung out and Mr Trump fell to the ground, rising moments later with blood streaming down his face.

So far, the FBI has only released Crooks's name, age and where he lived. 

They earlier said the gunman was not carrying identification, so they analysed his DNA to provide a biometric confirmation of his identity. 

Bethel Park, where Crooks lived, is about an hour south of Butler. 

The Federal Aviation Administration said on Sunday that the airspace over the Bethel Park was closed "effective immediately" for special security reasons.

Crooks graduated from Bethel Park High School in 2022, according to a statement from the Bethel Park School District.

"Our school district will cooperate fully with the active law enforcement investigation surrounding this case, and as such, we are limited in what we can publicly disclose," the statement read.

"The school district wishes to express its sincere wishes for a speedy and complete recovery for Mr. Trump and those in attendance at the Saturday event who may have been physically harmed or emotionally impacted by these tragic events." 

He received a $US500 ($740) "star award" from the National Maths and Science Initiative , according to a local media report.

State voter records show that Crooks was a registered Republican and the upcoming election would have been the first time he was old enough to vote.

When Crooks was 17 he made a $US15 donation to ActBlue, a political action committee that raises money for left-leaning and Democratic politicians, according to a 2021 Federal Election Commission filing.

The donation was earmarked for the Progressive Turnout Project, a national group that rallies Democrats to vote. The groups did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Crooks's father, Matthew Crooks, 53, told CNN that he was trying to figure out what happened and would wait until he spoke to law enforcement before speaking about his son.

What weapon was involved?

Two officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity, saying an AR-style rifle was recovered at the scene.

AR-style rifles are common in mass shootings in the US, said Professor David Smith from the United States Studies Centre.

They are affordable, lightweight and semi-automatic, meaning they can fire multiple rounds quickly. 

Mr Trump was discussing border crossing numbers when the shots, at least five, were fired.

He released a statement on his Truth Social platform describing the moment he was struck.

"I was shot with a bullet that pierced the upper part of my right ear. I knew immediately that something was wrong in that I heard a whizzing sound, shots, and immediately felt the bullet ripping through the skin," he wrote.

Up to a dozen of the deadliest mass shootings in the US since 2006 have involved an AR-15.

Semi-automatic rifles such as the AR-15 have been banned in the past, but are currently widely available in most states. 

President Joe Biden has been calling to reinstate a nationwide ban that expired in 2004.

"One of my fears is that even though most of the major assassination attempts of the 20th century actually led to significant advances in gun control, this one will not," Professor Smith told ABC News channel.

"This doesn't seem like a moment where Americans are going to ask themselves whether things have gone too far with this violence.

"Instead, this seems more like a moment that is going to accelerate the current polarisation."

Possible motives?

The FBI, which is leading the investigation, told reporters that it's too early to say whether the shooter acted alone and have not provided a motive.

But police do not believe there is "any other existing threat out there".

The FBI is calling for people with video of the event or information to share it with authorities.

Professor Claire Finkelstein from the University of Pennsylvania Law School, said we are likely to learn more about possible motives in the coming days.

She noted there has been an increase in political violence. 

"We have seen an increase in violent rhetoric around political events of all sorts, and political cause," Professor Finkelstein told ABC News. 

"And the irony is, of course, that Trump himself has fomented some of this violent rhetoric. 

"I think this is a lesson to all of us about how dangerous it is for politicians to increase the violent rhetoric around their campaigns and around their causes."

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and US Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle have briefed President Joe Biden.

They are working with law enforcement partners to respond to and investigate the shooting, Mr Mayorkas said on X.

Republican US House Speaker Mike Johnson also said the House will conduct a full investigation of the attack on Trump's campaign rally.

"The American people deserve to know the truth," Mr Johnson said.

"We will have Secret Service Director Kimberly Cheatle and other appropriate officials from DHS and the FBI appear for a hearing before our committees ASAP."

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Definition of 'round trip'

round trip in American English

Round trip in british english, round-trip in british english.

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Ex-Secret Service special agents explain why countersniper who saved Trump's life may have lost crucial seconds

• Trump's life was saved by a Secret Service countersniper assigned to Saturday's detail.
• But the shooter still managed to kill one rallygoer and injure two others before he was taken out.
• Experts said heat, staffing, and a focus on a nearby tree line may have cost crucial seconds.

The Secret Service countersniper who narrowly saved the life of former President Donald Trump may have lost crucial seconds because of factors including the extreme heat, a lack of antisniper backup, and a likely focus on a nearby tree line, a former special agent told Business Insider.

"This countersniper made an amazingly quick decision and clearly saved Trump's life," Bill Pickle, the former special agent in charge of Al Gore's vice-presidential Secret Service detail, said.

"Our guys are the best shots in the world. That's what they do," Pickle said.

"And within a second of the moment this kid opened fire, the CS guy shot him," he said, using Secret Service shorthand to refer to the countersniper deployed at Saturday night's rally in Butler, Pennsylvania.

"But someone will blame that CS and the spotter and say, 'If only he had been two seconds faster in spotting the shooter,'" the former special agent said.

"The real question may be: If there were more antisniper eyes on that building, could this have all been avoided?" he added.

How did the countersniper team not see the shooting suspect sooner?

Pickle said one area of focus for investigators would be how the shooter managed to get on top of the building without authorities taking notice.

"The other question is: Why wasn't this roof secured, and were there agents or law enforcement in there checking IDs?" he added.

"How did this kid figure out a way to get out on the rooftop and slither across that rooftop?" Pickle said. "He low-crawled across the roof on his hands and knees, and he pushed the weapon ahead of him just like in the military."

But even if they see a shooting suspect quicker, countersnipers may not always have the ability to act immediately when they spot a threat, Anthony Cangelosi, a former special agent who directed the Secret Service's technical-security advances for presidential candidates, said.

"You either have to make a decision: 'Do I take a shot? Or do I not take a shot?'" Cangelosi told BI.

"What if you find out, 'Oh, I just killed a 20-year-old kid who loves the protectee, and he couldn't get in the venue, and he just wanted to get up on that roof?' No one wants to be in that position," Cangelosi said.

Cangelosi said the Secret Service team at the event should have a "site plan" that would include a layout of the area and the surrounding buildings.

The would-be assassin fired at least three rounds from a rooftop 150 yards from where Trump was speaking. He killed one rallygoer and critically injured two others before being shot dead by a yet-to-be-identified Secret Service countersniper who was positioned on another rooftop.

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One bullet grazed Trump's right ear , bloodying his face.

"This kid, at 150 yards, made a great shot," Pickle said Sunday of the would-be assassin, his voice grim. "I don't know the specifics of whether he used optics, meaning a scope on his rifle," he told BI.

"But even with optics, it takes somebody with training to aim at somebody's head from 150 yards away and you actually hit the edge of the head," he said.

"That's not a lucky shot," he added. "That's a guy who actually shot before."

The FBI identified the shooter as Thomas Matthew Crooks , 20, of Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. The FBI said it was still investigating a motive.

But for now, it's clear that at least three things may have factored into the several-second delay between when Crooks was seen crawling onto the roof and when the CS team saw and shot him, Pickle said.

The decision on how many antisnipers to deploy may prove the most critical factor, he said.

"Someone made a decision that that number of countersnipers was sufficient," he said. "And obviously, in hindsight, they were wrong because there was a kid who was able to get up there on that rooftop and pull the trigger three times at least."

How many CS teams were deployed?

Staffing decisions would have been made at the Secret Service's headquarters in Washington, DC, based on whatever agency personnel on the ground recommended after a several-day investigation of the site, Pickle said.

"An advance team actually does a lengthy survey, where they look at everything and then recommend what they need," he said.

"But if they're stretched for resources, headquarters can say we can only get you one team out there. And that's not unusual — if you don't have it, you don't have it," Pickle said.

"It always boils down to resources," he said. "And if it's not a resource problem, and the money was there, then it's still an allocation-of-resources problem," he said — meaning someone underestimated the forces needed to keep Trump safe.

Regardless of how many snipers were present, the Secret Service typically has "360-degree coverage" of an event where a sitting or former president is speaking, Cangelosi said.

Another factor is the weather.

"The CS guys would probably say: 'We were up there for four hours in 100-degree heat, and if we had another team up here or drone support, this wouldn't have happened,'" Pickle said.

The team may also have been focusing on a nearby tree line, seeing it as the primary risk.

"You're looking at everything that would hide a potential assassin," Pickle said.

"The first assumption is that if I'm a bad guy, I'm going to hide. Human nature is such that I'm going to be scanning the rooftops to make sure they're empty, but then I'm going to be focusing on that tree line because you think the bad guy is going to be hidden," Pickle said.

"You don't think the bad guy is going to be out in the open," he said.

Interagency squabbles and intense public scrutiny are forthcoming

Once the would-be assassin opened fire, "everything that happened up there was textbook and the way it should have happened," Pickle said. The CS team returned fire, long-gun-toting counterassault agents in black jumpsuits and helmets rushed the stage, and business-suited agents at the rally platform hurried Trump offstage.

"But why wasn't he identified seconds sooner?" Pickle asked of the shooter.

"Was it caused by exhaustion from being on a 100-degree roof for four hours? Was the CS team watching the heavy foliage there, which arguably was the best place to hide?" he said.

"An open roof is not the best place to hide. If he climbed out onto an open rooftop, he was prepared to die," he added.

"The worst nightmare for the Secret Service has always been a lone gunman who hasn't been announcing his views publicly and is ready to die," he said.

Pickle said Saturday's attack would be dissected for years to come and "will be in the training syllabus forever."

"It's going to be a circular firing squad," Pickle said of the interagency finger-pointing and conspiracy theories that will play out as the attempted assassination is scrutinized by the FBI, Congress, and the press and public.

Cangelosi told BI that "a lot of people talk and things just travel" within the agency after an event of this magnitude.

"We all want answers, and we want them as quickly as possible, but it's going to take some time," Cangelosi said. "You know the Secret Service; they're professionals. Mistakes are made. They're going to remedy them."

Watch: How the Secret Service protected Trump after 'screwing up'

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