road
noun
Simple meaning
An open way for travel or transportation.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
rohdIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɹoʊd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now (US) usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. In the UK both senses are heard: a country road is the same as a country lane.
An open way (generally public) for travel or transportation
uncountable
Roads in general as a means of travel, especially by motor vehicle.
figuratively
A path chosen, as in life or career.
An underground tunnel in a mine.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- A1 · Beginner (estimated)
- Frequency
- Very Common
- Typical Use
- General English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: A way used for travelling between places, originally one wide enough to allow foot passengers and horses to travel, now (US) usually one surfaced with asphalt or concrete and designed to accommodate many vehicles travelling in both directions. In the UK both senses are heard: a country road is the same as a country lane.
Used this way, road is a reasonably familiar word that usually carries little praise or criticism of its own. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
- Emotional tone
- Neutral
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Not strongly marked
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Matter-of-fact
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use road
- “We travelled to the seaside by road.”noun
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Inflected forms
Grammatical variations of the same word.
A partly sheltered anchorage.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
Vehicle equipped with heavy wide smooth rollers for compacting roads and pavements.
Someone who participates in long-distance races (especially in marathons).
Good judgment in avoiding trouble or accidents on the road.
A show on tour.
The paved surface of a paved roadway.
A test to insure that a vehicle is roadworthy.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
Edge of a way or road or path.
A road (especially that part of a road) over which vehicles travel.
An inn (usually outside city limits on a main road) providing meals and liquor and dancing and (sometimes) gambling.
Related Words
Connected to the same idea, not synonyms.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.