Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: ROADS

Language: Old English
Origin: lanu

lane

 noun
     
lane S3 W3 [countable]
1 a narrow road in the countryside [↪ path]:
2 a road in a city, often used in road names:
the Hilton Hotel in Park Lane
a network of alleys and back lanes (=narrow unimportant roads, often behind a row of houses)
3TTR one of the two or three parallel areas on a road which are divided by painted lines to keep traffic apart:
That idiot changed lanes without signalling.
the inside/middle/outside lane
Use the outside lane for overtaking only.
the fast/slow lane
Cars in the fast lane were travelling at over 80 miles an hour.
➔ bus lane, cycle lane
4DS one of the narrow parallel areas marked for each competitor in a running or swimming race
5TTWTTA a line or course along which ships or aircraft regularly travel between ports or airports:

➔ life in the fast lane

at fast lane (1)

➔ walk/trip down memory lane

at memory (7)WORD FOCUS: road WORD FOCUS: road
a big road: main road, highway, motorway British English, freeway American English, expressway, turnpike American English, interstate American English, A-road British English
a road in a town: street, avenue, boulevard
a road in the countryside: country road, lane, track
a road you pay to use: toll road
parts of a road: fast lane, slow lane, hard shoulder British English/shoulder American English, central reservation British English/median strip American English, pavement British English/sidewalk American English

➔ See also road
Definition of lane from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English within
the topic ROADS
Word of the Day
The ROADS
Word of the Day is:
S-curve

Other related topics