Definition of ROAD

road

Plural: roads

Noun

  • an open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
  • a way or means to achieve something
    • "the road to fame"
  • A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now (US) usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. In the UK both senses are heard: a country road is the same as a country lane.
  • Roads in general as a means of travel, especially by motor vehicle.
  • A physical way or route.
  • A path chosen, as in life or career.
  • An underground tunnel in a mine.
  • A railway or (UK, rail transport) a single railway track.
  • The act of riding on horseback.
  • A hostile ride against a particular area; a raid.
  • A partly sheltered area of water near a shore in which vessels may ride at anchor; a roadstead.
  • A journey, or stage of a journey.
  • A hard, flat pitch, typically favourable for batters.

Adj

  • At the venue of the opposing team or competitor; on the road.
  • Of or pertaining to a road bike.

Examples

  • "road groupset"
  • "road tires"
  • "the road to happiness; the road to success."
  • "We travelled to the seaside by road."

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English rode, rade (“ride, journey”), from Old English rād (“riding, hostile incursion”), from Proto-West Germanic *raidu, from Proto-Germanic *raidō (“a ride”), from Proto-Indo-European *reydʰ- (“to ride”). Doublet of raid, acquired from Scots. Cognates include West Frisian reed (paved trail/road, driveway).
The current primary meaning of "street, way for traveling" originated relatively late — Shakespeare seemed to expect his audiences to find it unfamiliar — and probably arose through reinterpretation of roadway (“a way for riding on”) as saying way twice, in other words as a tautological compound.

Synonyms

away, frog, frog and toad, marg, road, route, street

Scrabble Score: 5

road is a valid Scrabble (US) TWL word
road is a valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
road is a valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 5

road is a valid Words With Friends word