Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Language: Old English
Origin: rad 'ride, journey'

road

 noun
     
NEW! See related topics: ROADS
road S1 W1
1 [uncountable and countable]TTR a specially prepared hard surface for cars, buses, bicycles etc to travel on [↪ street, motorway, freeway]COLLOCATIONS COLLOCATIONS
along/up/down a road on/in a road on the other side of the road in the middle of the road by the side of the road by road (=driving) on the roads cross a road run (out) into a road side/back road (=a small road that is not used much) busy road (=one with a lot of traffic) road sense (=knowledge about how to behave sensibly near traffic) road safety
I was driving along the road when a kid suddenly stepped out in front of me.
You'll see the library a bit further up the road.
I ran down the road to see what was happening.
There were loads of cars parked on the road.
Protesters sat down in the road to stop the lorries.
Someone was standing in the middle of the road.
There wasn't much traffic on the roads.
I ran across the road to meet him.
We stopped and had something to eat by the side of the road.
The college is easily accessible by road.
There are far more cars on the roads now than there used to be.
I turned a corner to find the road ahead severely flooded.
Be careful crossing the road.
We turned down a side road.
Beyond the garden was a fairly busy road.
Kids of that age have no road sense.
a road safety campaign
2

Road

written abbreviation Rd.TTR used in addresses after the names of roads and streets:
65 Maple Road
He lives on Dudley Road.
3

on the road

a) TTC travelling in a car, especially for long distances:
I've been on the road since 5:00 a.m. this morning.
b) AP if a group of actors or musicians are on the road, they are travelling from place to place giving performances:
They're on the road for six months out of every year.
c) TTC if your car is on the road, you have paid for the repairs, tax etc necessary for you to drive it legally:
It would cost too much to put it back on the road.
4

the road to something

if you are on the road to something, you will achieve it soon, or it will happen to you soon:
The doctor says she's well on the road to recovery.
It was this deal that set him on the road to his first million.
the first step along the road to democracy
5

go down a/this road

to choose a particular course of action:
Is there any scope for going down that road in the future?
It depends which road you want to go down.
6

along/down the road

in the future, especially at a later stage in a process:
You can always upgrade a bit further down the road if you want.
Somewhere down the road, they're going to clash.
7

one for the road

spokenDFD a last alcoholic drink before you leave a party, pub etc

➔ the end of the road

at end1 (17)

➔ hit the road

at hit1 (13)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
Definition from the Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
Advanced Learner's Dictionary.
 
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