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