# road

Pronunciation: say "ROHD" US /ɹod/, UK /ɹəʊd/

## Noun

1. A wide way leading from one place to another, especially one with a specially prepared surface that vehicles can use.
   - Simple: A wide path between places, usually with a hard surface, that cars and other vehicles travel on.
   - _Crews resurfaced the road after years of heavy truck traffic._
   - _A narrow road wound through the hills toward the coast._
2. The system of routes taken as a whole, used as a means of travel, especially by motor vehicle.
   - Simple: Travel using streets and highways, usually by car or truck.
   - _Shipping the parts by road proved cheaper than flying them in._
   - _She prefers to go by road so she can stop wherever she likes._
3. A course taken through life or a career, thought of as a path one follows.
   - Simple: A choice or direction someone takes in life or work.
   - _Going back to school later in life set him on a new road entirely._
   - _Every road she considered seemed to lead away from the family business._
8. A partly sheltered stretch of water near a shore where vessels can ride at anchor.
   - Simple: A calm stretch of water near the shore where ships can safely drop anchor.
   - _Cargo ships often anchor in the roads outside the port while they wait for a berth._
   - _From the beach we could see a dozen freighters riding at anchor in the roads._

## Adjective

4. Played or competed at the opposing team's venue rather than one's own home ground. *(Canada, US)*
   - Simple: Playing at the other team's field or arena, not at your home one.
   - _The coach rested his starters before a long road trip out west._
   - _A road win against the league leaders boosted their playoff hopes._
5. Relating to or designed for a road bike.
   - Simple: Made for riding a road bike on smooth, paved surfaces.
   - _He swapped his knobby treads for slick road wheels before the event._
   - _Her road pedals clip in tighter than the ones on her commuter bike._

## Noun

6. A journey, or a single stage of a journey. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A journey, or one part of a longer journey.
7. A railroad, regarded as a whole line, system, or operating company. *(archaic, US)*
   - Simple: A railroad line or company, with its tracks and trains.
   - _The road extended its line west to capture the new cattle trade._
   - _Two rival roads fought for years over the same mountain pass._
9. A hostile ride against an area; a raid. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: A sudden attack made by riders against an area, like a raid.
10. The act or activity of riding on horseback. *(obsolete)*
   - Simple: The act of riding on a horse.

## Other meanings

- (noun) A single track of a railroad, regarded as one line along which trains run.
- (noun) A hard, flat cricket pitch that favors the batting side.
- (noun) An underground passage or tunnel within a mine, used for access and haulage.

## Origin

Old English rād meant riding or a hostile incursion, and it became Middle English rode or rade ("ride, journey"). It goes back through Proto-Germanic *raidō ("a ride") to a Proto-Indo-European root meaning "to ride," and raid is a doublet. The main modern sense, a street or way for traveling, came fairly late. Shakespeare apparently assumed his audiences would not know it well, and it probably arose when roadway was reinterpreted.

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