# avenue

Pronunciation: US say "AV-uh-noo" /ˈæv.əˌn(j)u/; UK say "AV-uh-nyoo" /ˈæv.əˌnjuː/

## Noun

1. A wide street, especially one lined with trees or, in a city laid out on a grid, one on a particular side of the city or running in a particular direction.
   - Simple: A wide street, often with trees on each side, or in some cities a main street going in one set direction.
   - _A broad avenue lined with old oaks leads from the station to the courthouse._
   - _Downtown, the avenues run north and south, so you count the cross streets to know how far you have walked._
2. A way or means by which something can be done or achieved.
   - Simple: A way of doing something or reaching a goal.
   - _Investigators are exploring every avenue that might explain the missing funds._
   - _The grant could open new avenues of research into rare childhood diseases._
3. The main walk or drive leading to a house set back from the road, especially one lined with trees on both sides; also any broad, tree-lined passage.
   - Simple: The main path or road leading up to a house set back from the street, often with trees on both sides.
   - _A mile-long avenue of lindens runs from the iron gates to the front steps of the house._
   - _Across the park, the old path widens into an avenue of chestnut trees that slopes down to the lake._
4. A way or opening by which a place can be entered, reached or left; a route of approach or exit.
   - Simple: A way or path that lets you get into or out of a place.
   - _The pass through the hills offered the army its one avenue of approach to the city._
   - _Engineers sealed the old mine shaft, closing the last avenue into the flooded tunnels._

## Origin

Borrowed from French avenue, from Old French avenue, the feminine past participle of avenir ("to approach"). This comes from Latin advenīre ("to come to"), formed from ad ("to") + venīre ("to come").

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/avenue (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).