noun
ADJECTIVE
▪ broad , wide
▪ narrow
▪ busy , congested
▪ clear , deserted , empty , lonely , quiet
▪
Let's leave when the ~s are clear.
▪ direct
▪
The airport's near here but there's no direct ~.
▪ straight
▪ curvy ( AmE ), twisting , twisty , winding , windy
▪ steep
▪ scenic
▪ asphalt , blacktop ( AmE ), cobbled , cobblestone ( esp. AmE ), flat , gravel , metalled ( esp. BrE ), paved , Tarmac™ ( esp. BrE )
▪ good , smooth
▪ passable
▪
All main ~s were passable with care.
▪ bad , bumpy ( often figurative ), dirt ( esp. AmE ), poor , rough , rutted , unmade ( BrE ), unpaved
▪
a bumpy ~ through the forest
▪ dangerous , difficult , hard , rocky , tough ( all usually figurative )
▪
Bringing up a handicapped child can be a long and hard ~.
▪ easy ( often figurative )
▪
It isn't going to be an easy ~ for him.
▪ safe
▪ slick ( AmE ), slippery
▪ dusty , icy , muddy , snowy , wet
▪ fast
▪ dark ( often figurative )
▪ long ( often figurative ), main , major , national , trunk ( BrE )
▪ back , local , minor ( esp. BrE ), secondary , small , unclassified ( BrE )
▪ old
▪
the old dirt ~ to the village
▪ new
▪
the building of new ~s
▪ one-lane , two-lane , etc.
▪ single-track ( BrE )
▪ country , rural
▪ urban ( esp. BrE )
▪ county ( esp. AmE )
▪ residential ( esp. BrE )
▪ tree-lined
▪ private , public
▪ dead-end ( often figurative )
▪
The government's policy on education is a dead-end ~.
▪ open
▪
We'll be able to go faster once we're out on the open ~.
▪ right , wrong
▪
We took the wrong ~ and had to turn back.
▪
It does appear we are on the right ~ to success. ( figurative )
▪ east-west , etc.
▪ canyon ( AmE ), coast ( esp. BrE ), coastal , country , desert , forest , mountain
▪ logging
▪ airport
▪ access , arterial ( esp. BrE ), bypass , feeder , frontage ( AmE ), perimeter , ring ( BrE ), side , slip ( BrE )
▪ high , low
▪ toll
VERB + ROAD
▪ follow , go down
▪
Follow the ~ around to the left.
▪
We have discussed privatization, but we would prefer not to go down that ~. ( figurative )
▪ take , turn into ( BrE ), turn onto
▪
Take the next ~ on the right.
▪
Turn right into Harpes Road.
▪
Turn left onto the coastal ~.
▪ turn off
▪ pull (out) into ( BrE ), pull (out) onto
▪
He was hit by another car as he pulled out onto the ~.
▪ leave , pull off
▪
They stopped in a forest, leaving the main ~.
▪
The car left the ~ and slid to a halt.
▪
I pulled off the ~ for a rest.
▪ drive ( esp. AmE ), travel ( also figurative ), walk ( esp. AmE , often figurative )
▪
I must have driven the back ~s for half an hour.
▪
They have travelled/traveled the long, lonely ~ of exclusion.
▪
He walks a ~ filled with shadow and doubt.
▪ choose
▪
We have chosen the ~ of peace.
▪ cross , get across
▪ join , meet ( esp. AmE )
▪
The track joins the main ~ just south of the town.
▪ block , block off ( esp. AmE ), blockade , close , cordon off ( BrE )
▪
Angry farmers blocked the ~ with their tractors.
▪
Police cordoned off the ~ and diverted commuter traffic.
▪ clog , clog up ( BrE )
▪
Traffic clogs the ~s.
▪ clear
▪
The crowd eventually cleared the ~.
▪
They cleared the ~s of snow.
▪ build , construct , rebuild
▪ maintain , mend ( BrE ), repair
▪ pave , resurface ( BrE ), surface ( BrE )
▪ widen
▪ line
▪
Huge eucalyptuses lined the ~.
▪
The crowds lined the ~s for his triumphal entry.
ROAD + VERB
▪ go , lead , run
▪
Where does this ~ go?
▪
The ~ runs parallel to the river.
▪ stretch
▪
the ~ stretched out before them.
▪
The ~ stretches off into the distance.
▪ bend ( BrE ), curve , turn , twist , wind
▪
The ~ twists and turns up the hillside.
▪ climb
▪
The ~ climbs steeply from the beach.
▪ cross sth
▪
The ~ crosses the river further up the valley.
▪ connect sth , link sth
▪
the ~ connecting Irado and Calla Ayda
▪ branch ( esp. BrE ), branch off , fork
▪
Our ~ branches off to the left just past the woods.
▪ narrow , widen
▪
The ~ narrowed and turned into this dirt trail.
ROAD + NOUN
▪ atlas , map
▪ markings , sign
▪ intersection , junction
▪ bridge , crossing , tunnel
▪ closure
▪ block (usually roadblock ) , blockade
▪ bump , hump ( BrE ) (usually speed humps in BrE , speed bumps in AmE )
▪
Road bumps have been laid down to limit the speed of cars.
▪ infrastructure , network , system
▪
the surrounding ~ system
▪ layout ( BrE )
▪ access , link
▪
There is still no ~ access to the island.
▪ development , plan ( esp. BrE ), programme/program ( esp. BrE ), project , proposal ( BrE ), scheme ( BrE )
▪ building , construction
▪
loans for ~ construction and infrastructure development
▪ maintenance , repair
▪
the cost of ~ maintenance
▪ improvements
▪ surface
▪ journey ( esp. BrE ), trip ( informal , esp. AmE )
▪ accident , crash ( esp. BrE ), smash ( BrE ), traffic accident
▪ safety
▪ deaths , fatalities (both esp. BrE )
▪ conditions
▪ salt
▪ traffic , vehicles
▪ race
▪ racer
▪ course
▪ bike
▪ test
▪ engineer ( esp. BrE )
▪ haulier ( BrE ) ( hauler in AmE )
▪ haulage ( BrE )
▪ sweeper ( esp. BrE )
▪ pricing , tax ( in the UK ), toll ( esp. BrE )
▪
Road tax is set to rise in next month's budget.
▪
Road tolls can make driving expensive.
▪ user
▪ hog ( informal )
▪ warrior ( esp. AmE )
▪ crew
▪ rage
▪
A man has been stabbed to death in a road-rage attack.
▪ manners , sense (both esp. BrE )
▪
poor driving standards and lack of ~ manners
▪ kill (usually roadkill )
▪
scavengers that feed off roadkill
▪ rash (= scratches on the skin from falling from a bicycle) ( AmE )
▪
She was treated for ~ rash.
▪ movie
PREPOSITION
▪ across the ~
▪
The house across the ~ is for sale.
▪ along the ~
▪
He was walking along the ~ when he was attacked.
▪ by ~
▪
It takes three hours by ~ ( = driving ).
▪ down the ~ , up the ~
▪
They live down the ~ from us.
▪ in the ~
▪
There was a dog in the ~ so we stopped.
▪
We live in Pinsley Road. ( BrE )
▪
We live on Pinsley Road. ( BrE , AmE )
▪ into the ~
▪
She stepped out into the ~ without looking.
▪ off the ~
▪
My car's off the ~ at the moment while I recondition the engine.
▪ on a/the ~
▪
There's something lying on the ~.
▪
There was a lot of traffic on the ~ this morning.
▪
on the ~ to Damascus
▪
My car is back on the ~ (= is working) again.
▪
We'd been on the ~ since dawn and needed a rest.
▪ ~ along , ~ over , ~ through
▪
the main ~ through the town
▪ ~ from , ~ to
▪
the ~ to Acapulco
▪
to be on the ~ to recovery/success ( figurative )
PHRASES
▪ at the side of the ~ ( esp. BrE ), by the side of the ~ , on the side of the ~
▪ the bottom of the ~ ( BrE ), the top of the ~
▪ the end of the ~ ( often figurative )
▪
This latest disagreement could mean the end of the ~ for the band.
▪ a bend in the ~ , a fork in the ~ , a turn in the ~
▪
We came to a fork in the ~.
▪ the middle of the ~
▪
A dog was sitting in the middle of the ~, so we stopped.
▪ the middle ~ ( figurative )
▪
Kaufman has opted to travel the middle ~.
▪ a stretch of ~
▪
a notoriously dangerous stretch of ~
▪ hit the ~
▪
The following spring I hit the ~.