ROAD


Meaning of ROAD in English

/ rəʊd; NAmE roʊd/ noun

1.

a hard surface built for vehicles to travel on :

a main / major / minor road

a country / mountain road

They live just along / up / down the road (= further on the same road) .

The house is on a very busy road.

He was walking along the road when he was attacked.

It takes about five hours by road (= driving) .

It would be better to transport the goods by rail rather than by road .

Take the first road on the left and then follow the signs.

We parked on a side road .

road accidents / safety / users

2.

Road ( abbr. Rd ) used in names of roads, especially in towns :

35 York Road

3.

the way to achieving sth :

to be on the road to recovery

We have discussed privatization, but we would prefer not to go down that particular road .

IDIOMS

- any road

- (further) along / down the road

- one for the road

- on the road

- the road to hell is paved with good intentions

—more at end noun , further adverb , hit verb , show noun

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MORE ABOUT

roads

Roads and streets

In a town or city, street is the most general word for a road with houses and buildings on one or both sides:

a street map of London.

Street is not used for roads between towns, but streets in towns are often called Road :

Oxford Street

Mile End Road.

A road map of France would show you the major routes between, around and through towns and cities.

Other words used in the names of streets include: Circle , Court , Crescent , Drive , Hill and Way . Avenue suggests a wide street lined with trees. A lane is a narrow street between buildings or, in BrE , a narrow country road.

The high street

High street is used in BrE , especially as a name, for the main street of a town, where most shops, banks, etc. are:

the record store in the High Street

high street shops.

In NAmE Main Street is often used as a name for this street.

Larger roads

British and American English use different words for the roads that connect towns and cities. Motorways , (for example, the M57) in BrE , freeways , highways or interstates , (for example State Route 347, Interstate 94, the Long Island Expressway) in NAmE , are large divided roads built for long-distance traffic to avoid towns.

A ring road ( BrE ) / an outer belt (NAmE) is built around a city or town to reduce traffic in the centre. This can also be called a beltway in NAmE , especially when it refers to the road around Washington D.C. A bypass passes around a town or city rather than through the centre.

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WORD ORIGIN

Old English rād journey on horseback , foray ; of Germanic origin; related to the verb ride .

Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary.      Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне.