I. ˈstrēt, usu -ēd.+V noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English strete, from Old English strǣt; akin to Old Frisian strēte street, Old High German straza, strazza; all from a prehistoric West Germanic word borrowed from Late Latin strata paved road, from Latin, feminine of stratus, past participle of sternere to spread out, throw down — more at strew
1.
a. obsolete : a paved road : highway
until recently the Canterbury road was known as the Street — Chicago Daily Tribune
b.
(1) : a public thoroughfare especially in a city, town, or village including all area within the right of way (as sidewalks and tree belts) and sometimes further distinguished as being wider than an alley or lane but narrower than an avenue or boulevard and as separating blocks rather than penetrating them
another alley that … gave on a through street — Paul Bowles
— contrasted with road; abbr. st.
(2) : the strip of a public thoroughfare reserved for vehicular traffic
a pedestrian killed while crossing the street
(3) : a public thoroughfare including the property abutting it
lives on a fashionable street
has an office on Main Street
c. : the roadway in front of or between the barracks or tents of a company or battery
instruction in … shelter tent pitching, in the battery street — C.P.Smith
d. : a promising line of development or a channeling of effort
in a crucial election year … was shrewdly working both sides of the street — Time
this … method of furthering economic development can operate at full effectiveness only as a two-way street — Atlantic
2. : the people occupying property along a street
the whole street is up in arms over the rezoning proposal
3. usually capitalized
a. : a district (as Wall Street, Fleet Street) identified with a particular profession
the Street's top ten banking houses — Time
coming back as editor to the Street — London Daily Chronicle
b. : the people who work there
railroads continued to act well in the opinion of the Street — Wall Street Journal
4.
a. : the life or profession of a prostitute
found in opium dens … new contingents of women discovered on the street — Alfred Buchanan
— used in plural
a woman of the streets
b. : the poor or derelict of a city
children of the street , clad in rags — Heinrich Harrer
c. slang : release from confinement : freedom , liberty
you won't go right back on it when you make the street again — Nelson Algren
5. : the common man
in Socrates the street conquered the intelligentsia and the aristocracy — C.P.Rodocanachi
•
- on the street
- up one's street
II. adjective
Etymology: Middle English strete, from strete, n.
1. : of or relating to the thoroughfares of an urban area: as
a. : adjoining or giving access to a street
street door
b. : carried on or taking place in the streets
street fighting
street beggary
c. : living or working on the streets
street gamin
street vendor
d. : located in, used for, or serving as a guide to the streets
fluorescent street lighting
a street directory
e. : performing in or heard on the streets
street band
street music
street cries
f.
(1) : suitable for wear on the street
street clothes
street makeup
(2) : of a length that does not touch the ground — used of women's dresses in lengths reaching to the knee, calf, or ankle
2.
a. : of or relating to the common man
street humor
b. : associated with the business of a particular district (as Wall Street)
street dollar market
c. : established by trading outside the exchange in a financial center
street price
street rate
3. : caused by a street virus
street distemper
III. noun
: the streets of a city seen as an environment of poverty, dereliction, or crime (as prostitution and drug trafficking)
heroin worth about $25,000 on the street — Loudon Wainwright
IV. adjective
: of, relating to, or characteristic of the street environment
street drugs
street values