Added 5 October 2026
road
/ɾoːɖ/ noun
In Latin: via, iter Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about road at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- 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. .mw-parser-output .defdate{font-size:smaller}
-
Roads in general as a means of travel, especially by motor vehicle.
We travelled to the seaside by road.
- A physical way or route.
adjective
- At the venue of the opposing team or competitor; on the road.
-
Of or pertaining to a road bike.
road tires
Origin
From Middle English rode, rade (“ride, journey”), from Old English rād (“riding, hostile incursion”), from Proto-West Germanic *raidu, from Proto-Germanic *raidō (“a ride”), from Proto-Indo-European *reydʰ- (“to ride”). Doublet of raid, acquired from Scots. Cognates include West Frisian reed (paved trail/road, driveway). The current primary meaning of "street, way for traveling" originated relatively late — Shakespeare seemed to expect his audiences to find it unfamiliar — and probably arose through reinterpretation of roadway (“a way for riding on”) as saying way twice, in other words as a tautological compound.
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)