RIGHT-OF-WAY

noun (plural rights-of-way; also ~s) Date: 1768 a legal right of passage over another person's ground, 2. the area over which a ~ exists, the strip of land over which is built a public road, the land occupied by a railroad especially for its main line, the land used by a public utility (as for a transmission line), 3. a precedence in passing accorded to one vehicle over another by custom, decision, or statute, the right of traffic to take precedence, the right to take precedence over others