roadwork

noun

road·​work ˈrōd-ˌwərk How to pronounce roadwork (audio)
1
: work done in constructing or repairing roads
2
: conditioning for an athletic contest (such as a boxing match) consisting mainly of long runs

Examples of roadwork in a Sentence

The roadwork caused a backup in traffic.
Recent Examples on the Web Preparing for the major development in the northwest, officials say, will take buy-in from several municipalities, likely adding to the millions in public dollars already committed for roadwork at the Panasonic development. Sarah Ritter, Kansas City Star, 7 Mar. 2024 Traffic along Capitol Drive itself will be reduced to one lane in each direction, shifting lanes as the roadwork progresses. Jim Riccioli, Journal Sentinel, 23 Feb. 2024 All lanes on Karcher will be open during the daytime with all major roadwork taking place from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. Rachel Spacek, Idaho Statesman, 20 Feb. 2024 Mitski’s 2024 roadwork gets underway Jan. 26-27 in Miami, with the North American leg concluding with an April 10-13 run at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. Jonathan Cohen, SPIN, 16 Jan. 2024 The irony was the roadwork and the bridge in that sequence was in the original pilot of Justified. EW.com, 18 Oct. 2023 Even without the roadwork, traffic in and out of these canyons can be horrendous, so locals launched a new bus service this year, the Cottonwood Connect, that offers $10 round-trip rides. Tim Neville, Travel + Leisure, 29 Dec. 2023 The crux of the tragedy is a trivial element of roadwork. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Jan. 2024 Gano released his debut solo album in 2002, and DeLorenzo rejoined Violent Femmes that year for a farewell tour, which turned into several more years of steady roadwork. Al Shipley, SPIN, 29 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'roadwork.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1755, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of roadwork was in 1755

Dictionary Entries Near roadwork

Cite this Entry

“Roadwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/roadwork. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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