I. ˈrü]t, ˈrau̇], usu ]d.+V noun
also rout ˈrau̇]
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English rute, route, from Old French route troop, band, route, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin rupta ( via ), literally, broken way, beaten way, from Latin rupta, feminine of ruptus, past participle of rumpere to break — more at reave
1.
a. : a traveled way : road , highway
expressways, toll roads, turnpikes, and similar large-scale routes — P.F.Griffin
because of its position on a water route , the village soon became a river-traffic center — American Guide Series: Michigan
b. : a means of access : channel , path
preparedness was offered as a route to peace — F.L.Paxson
liberal arts courses … as a route to the graduate schools — University of Chicago Round Table
2.
a. : a regular routine : customary progression
b. : a method of transmitting a disease or of administering a remedy
the airborne route of … infection — M.L.Furcolow
may be injected into … patients who cannot for any reason take the material by the oral route — Collier's Year Book
3. : a line or direction of travel : course , track
bayous change their routes with each flood — Lamp
U.S. 19 follows the general route of the old Catawba Trail — American Guide Series: North Carolina
4.
a. : an established itinerary : a selected or regularly traversed passage especially between two distant points
soon I'll be over the panhandle … if I've not drifted north of route — C.A.Lindbergh b.1902
permission … for 53 new domestic air routes — Americana Annual
the preponderance of shipping traffic along the north Atlantic route — R.S.Thoman
specifically : a telephone line
a new procedure … enables operators to use the circuits on busy routes more efficiently — C.F.Craig
b. : an assigned territory to be systematically covered
postal route
paper route
c. : a prescribed manner of shipment that may include selected carriers, junctions, and delivery point
inform me by what route they had sent an order — Georgina Grahame
5. archaic : marching orders
our route came for a march — Robert Bage
6. : a horse race of a mile or more
a horse trained for routes does not do well in sprints
Synonyms: see way
II. transitive verb
also rout “
( -ed/-ing/-s )
1.
a. : to plan an itinerary for : send by a selected route : direct
route lines through the richest inland spots — American Guide Series: Minnesota
routed volunteers to the guerilla frontiers — E.P.Snow
b. : to divert in a specified direction
route the high voltage to the various engine cylinders in the correct sequence — Aircraft Power Plants
took to routing their business through his … colleague — S.H.Adams
c. : to select the course to be followed by a shipment by designating carrier, intermediate points, junctions, and final delivery
2. : to put (the mail for a postal route) in order for delivery
3. : to prearrange and direct the order and execution of (a series of processes or transactions) in a factory or business : dispatch documents or materials to appropriate destinations
route an invoice to the accounting department
Synonyms: see send