ROUTE


Meaning of ROUTE in English

I. route 1 S3 W2 AC /ruːt $ ruːt, raʊt/ BrE AmE noun [countable]

[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: Vulgar Latin rupta (via) 'broken way' , from Latin ruptus 'broken' ]

1 . a way from one place to another

route to/from

What’s the best route to Cambridge?

take/follow a route (=use a route)

We weren’t sure about which route we should take.

the most direct route home

2 . a way between two places that buses, planes, ships etc regularly travel

bus/air/shipping etc route

Is your office on a bus route?

cycle route (=a way between two places that only people on bicycles can use)

3 . a way of doing something or achieving a particular result

route to

the surest route to disaster

Kennedy arrived at the same conclusion by a different route.

4 . Route 66/54 etc used to show the number of a main road in the US ⇨ ↑ paper route

• • •

COLLOCATIONS

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + route

▪ a direct route

The motorway is the most direct route.

▪ the best route

Let's look at the map and work out the best route.

▪ the quickest/shortest route

We took the shortest route back to the hotel.

▪ a roundabout route ( also a circuitous route formal ) (=one that is not at all direct)

Sorry we're late. We took a rather circuitous route.

▪ the scenic route (=a route that is not direct but goes through beautiful country)

I decided to take the scenic route.

▪ a northerly/southerly etc route

She followed the northerly route across Spain to Bilbao.

▪ the same route

He had intended to return by the same route.

▪ a different route

Is this a different route than the one we took before?

▪ an alternative route (=one that you can use instead)

Holiday-makers bound for South Wales are advised to find an alternative route.

▪ an escape route (=a way of leaving a building or place in an emergency such as a fire)

Check that your escape route is clear.

■ verbs

▪ follow a route

Are we following the right route?

▪ take a route

They had been forced to take a longer route.

▪ plan your route

We studied the map and planned our route.

• • •

THESAURUS

■ how to go to a place

▪ way the road, path, direction etc that you must take in order to get to a place:

Are you sure this is the right way to the sea?

|

Will you come with me? I don’t know the way.

▪ route a way from one place to another that people use regularly or that is shown on a map:

There are two routes we could take but this is the quickest one.

|

the overland trade route between Europe and China

▪ directions instructions on how to get to a place:

Let’s stop and ask someone for directions.

|

If you follow these directions you’ll have no problem finding the house.

▪ short cut a way of getting somewhere that is shorter than the usual way:

Let’s take a short cut across the field.

|

Taxi-drivers know all the short cuts.

▪ how to get to ... especially spoken used especially when you ask someone to tell you which is the right way:

Can you tell me how to get to Grand Central Station?

|

It was getting dark and I wasn’t sure how to get home.

II. route 2 AC BrE AmE verb [transitive]

to send something somewhere using a particular route

route something through/via something

They had to route the goods through Germany.

⇨ ↑ re-route

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.