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

Six local bands will also perform at the free event, which will take place at the crossroads of routes 27 and 135. — Cynthia Fernandez, BostonGlobe.com, "A sensory garden, a Beatles cover band, and a mentor program itself gets a boost," 13 July 2018 Even at the beginning of the season, which sees the greatest number of closures, 97 percent of routes remain open. — Ula Chrobak, Outside Online, "We're Overprotecting Birds at the Expense of Climbers," 12 July 2018 In the Payson area, these include Fossil Creek and the extensive forest area east of State Route 260 and south of State route 87. — Scott Craven, azcentral, "Some Arizona fire restrictions lifted; forests reopening," 11 July 2018 The first day of a paper route for an entrepreneurial 12-year-old ended with a police call. — Sheila Vilvens, Cincinnati.com, "Police called on 12-year-old African-American newspaper carrier," 11 July 2018 But Johnsen said residential is ideal for the site, which is located near the intersection of routes 72 and 25. — Erin Sauder, Elgin Courier-News, "East Dundee gives land to developers planning to build apartment buildings," 10 July 2018 Fans came out in large numbers for the 105th edition of cycling's biggest race, standing along nearly every stretch of the route and waving the red and white flags of the Vendee region. — Andrew Dampf, chicagotribune.com, "4-time Tour de France champion Chris Froome flies off the road into a ditch in opening stage," 7 July 2018 Fans turned out in large numbers for the 105th edition of cycling’s biggest race, standing along nearly every stretch of the route and waving the red-and-white flags of the Vendée region. — New York Times, "Chris Froome Begins Tour de France in a Ditch," 7 July 2018 The expressway authority approved spending $1.2 million on an extensive study of a route and other features. — Kevin Spear, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Central Florida toll roads proposed for Bithlo and Split Oak Forest draw public scorn," 29 June 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

In 2004 and again this year, the U.S.G.A. has chosen to route the bulk of the spectator parking farther away from the golf course to avoid congestion near the tournament site. — Bill Pennington, New York Times, "Shinnecock Indian Nation and U.S.G.A. Are Close to a Deal for the U.S. Open," 29 May 2018 The two-year pilot, which begins in July, will essentially pool wheelchair-accessible vehicles and route them through a centralized dispatcher. — Fredrick Kunkle, Washington Post, "Uber, Lyft and other ride-hailing apps are ‘useless’ for disabled riders, NYC advocates say," 26 May 2018 Unlike in the United States, where Facebook's AI systems automatically route most stories to fact-checking organizations, in Mexico, Facebook relies on ordinary people to spot questionable posts. — chicagotribune.com, "Facebook's battle against fake news reaches Mexico ahead of July 1 election," 23 June 2018 Many international companies route their supply chains through China, and American companies may end up feeling the effects of a trade war more keenly than their Chinese competitors. — New York Times, "Trump’s Trade War With China Is Officially Underway," 5 July 2018 World Cup streams, broadcast by Fox and other outlets, travel across the Internet on Akamai’s content delivery network, which looks for efficient ways to route data from the cameras and microphones in Russia to users’ computers and mobile devices. — Andy Rosen, BostonGlobe.com, "Streaming a World Cup game? You can thank these engineers in Cambridge," 29 June 2018 But calls have been growing to make tech firms pay a bigger share, with the European Union planning a new levy on companies such as Google and Facebook that route their EU profits through low-tax countries. — Bloomberg.com, "Should Facebook Pay More in Taxes? IMF Wades Into Thorny Debate," 12 Apr. 2018 The camera work required Arnold and Feustel to route power and ethernet cables from panels on the Destiny lab module to the front of the station where two camera-boom assemblies will be installed. — William Harwood, CBS News, "Space station astronauts take spacewalk to install cameras," 14 June 2018 Retailers’ main concern with combining the buttons is that merchants won’t be able to route their debit-card transactions to lower-cost networks. — Annamaria Andriotis, WSJ, "Visa, Mastercard Push for One-Click Ordering. Retailers Say ‘Not So Fast’," 24 May 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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