route

noun

\ ˈrüt

, ˈrau̇t

Definition of route

(Entry 1 of 2)

1a : a traveled way : highway the main route north

b : a means of access : channel the route to social mobility— T. F. O'Dea

2 : a line of travel : course

3a : an established or selected course of travel or action

b : an assigned territory to be systematically covered a newspaper route

route

verb

routed; routing

Definition of route (Entry 2 of 2)

transitive verb

1 : to send by a selected route : direct was routed along the scenic shore road

2 : to divert in a specified direction

Synonyms & Antonyms More Example Sentences Learn More about route

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Examples of route in a Sentence

Noun

We didn't know what route to take. an escape route in case of fire a major bird migratory route You could take a different route and still arrive at the same conclusion. Take Route 2 into town. We live on a rural route.

Verb

Traffic was routed around the accident. When the doctor is out, his calls are routed to his answering service.

Recent Examples on the Web: Noun

Bazley's route to the NBA has been unconventional, but his performance as one of 66 players invited to the league Combine has him in the mix to hear his name called out Thursday at the Barclay Center. — Scott Springer, Cincinnati.com, "5 things you need to know about Princeton's Darius Bazley heading into Thursday's NBA Draft," 18 June 2019 For instance, governments can forgive the college loans of those who return to live in these communities for a number of years, so that college becomes a route to upskilling locals, not a means of escape for the talented. — Raghuram Rajan For Cnn Business Perspectives, CNN, "We can't rely on national governments to save failing communities. It's time for a new approach," 18 June 2019 Of greater concern: Norwegian Air, which serves many routes from the United States to Europe, has been on unsteady financial ground. — Catharine Hamm, latimes.com, "Flying this summer? Pack a backup plan, and breathe deeply if that's possible," 17 June 2019 Anwar, who is also a physician, and other speakers stressed that in cardiac emergencies, time is critical in minimizing muscle damage and that I-84 West, the main route to hospitals in Hartford, is often jammed with traffic and sometimes shut down. — Jesse Leavenworth, courant.com, "East of the Connecticut River leaders blast state’s denial of expanded cardiac care at Manchester Memorial Hospital," 17 June 2019 New York had big designs on this offseason, and there are routes to improving the team, but the Knicks might be better off staying patient and continuing to try and develop their young talent. — Jeremy Woo, SI.com, "2019 NBA Mock Draft 10.0: Anthony Davis Trade Shakes Up the Lottery," 17 June 2019 For young people in high-opportunity metro areas, the route to home ownership is basically blocked without the help of a wealthy family member or some stock options. — Alexis C. Madrigal, The Atlantic, "Why Housing Policy Feels Like Generational Warfare," 13 June 2019 The twin paths of computer science and Wall Street finance are the quickest route to early recognition. — San Diego Union-Tribune, "Making the case for late bloomers in a world that values early success," 13 June 2019 Data used by emergency services includes information relayed to the 911 dispatchers by a caller, the location of other emergency-service vehicles in the area, the fastest routes to the caller’s location and traffic details, and other factors. — Angus Loten, WSJ, "911 Response Times Are Getting Faster Thanks to Data Integration," 13 June 2019

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Objects like kites and balloons can create potential to route electricity running through the service line to and through someone holding them on the ground. — Micah Walker, Detroit Free Press, "Man fatally electrocuted while cutting trees in Southfield," 9 June 2019 The big problem was that the person who took the first call was new and didn’t route it to the right manager. — Christine Clarridge, The Seattle Times, "Parking showdown with barricaded car2go ends; ‘both parties are happy,’ says Seattle man," 7 June 2019 In isolation, removing a few nodes from either network would do little harm, because signals could route around the outage and reach most of the remaining nodes. — Quanta Magazine, "Math models seek to prevent the next big network failure.," 18 Mar. 2013 Wireless carriers route high-value callers immediately to their most skilled agents. — Khadeeja Safdar, WSJ, "On Hold for 45 Minutes? It Might Be Your Secret Customer Score," 1 Nov. 2018 Traffic jams can already be avoided thanks to the integration of traffic alerts and GPS navigation, and within two years, the navigation system will feature a Doppler radar overlay that will be able to route drivers around inclement weather. — G.e. Anderson, Popular Mechanics, "Will Google Maps Win the Turn-by-Turn Nav War in Cars?," 28 June 2010 Now that the idea of using an algorithm to find a cab is normal, one of the tech challenges of the moment is how to most efficiently route all of those drivers to all of those customers. — Takashi Mochizuki, WSJ, "How Gaming Technology May Help Taxi Drivers in Japan," 1 Apr. 2019 In addition to the kite, the system includes weather sensors that alert the ship captain when to deploy the device and how to route the ship to take advantage of winds, Mr. Bernatets said. — Robert Wall, WSJ, "Airbus Looks Windward, Will Put Sails on Ships Moving Plane Parts," 8 Sep. 2018 Photo: Getty Images Since taking charge, Mr. Yao has worked to route more revenue to the owners, according to interviews with more than a dozen CBA team officials, agents, sports executives and academics. — Wayne Ma, WSJ, "Yao Ming Shoots for a Basketball Revolution," 14 July 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'route.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

History and Etymology for route

Noun

Middle English rute, route, borrowed from Anglo-French rute, going back to Vulgar Latin *rupta (short for *rupta via, literally, "broken way, forced passage," after Latin viam rumpere "to force a passage"), from feminine of ruptus, past participle of rumpere "to break, burst," going back to Indo-European *ru-n-p-, nasal present formation from the base *reu̯p- "break, tear" — more at reave

Verb

derivative of route entry 1

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