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

Thousands of others traveling as families took the legal route and asked for protection at ports of entry. — Robbie Whelan, WSJ, "A Way for Migrants to Ease U.S. Entry: Come as a Family," 16 Nov. 2018 Ariana herself has taken this route quoting a fan's meme about Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House. — Sara Delgado, Teen Vogue, "Ariana Grande's "Thank U, Next" Is Now a Hilarious Meme," 6 Nov. 2018 But cute antics and accidental tripping aside, the pageboys and bridesmaids' outfits stood out for taking a less traditional route than previous royal weddings. — Harper's Bazaar Staff, Harper's BAZAAR, "Eugenie & Jack's Bridesmaids and Pageboys Wore Less Traditional Looks Than Meghan & Harry's," 12 Oct. 2018 While the field hockey team won 17 games in a row on the way to the final, the lacrosse team took a more difficult route. — Craig Clary, baltimoresun.com, "Dulaney High's Maggie Kelly is Towson Times Female Athlete of the Year," 13 July 2018 The club warns its members to take alternate routes. — Mark Skoneki, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Waldo is no longer the nation's worst speed trap, AAA says," 11 July 2018 The Pike returned to full capacity weeks earlier than expected, traffic on the highway during rush hour was down as much as 30 percent, and ridership ticked up on the commuter rail — suggesting some drivers took a different route in. — Adam Vaccaro, BostonGlobe.com, "Commonwealth Avenue bridge project returns in late July," 11 July 2018 Motorists were advised to take an alternate route toward California. — CBS News, "More than 60 large wildfires burning across U.S.," 6 July 2018 Most international airlines are likely to take the route of least resistance. — The Economist, "A deadline looms in China’s battle with foreign firms over Taiwan," 5 July 2018

Recent Examples on the Web: Verb

Ford did not send the letter directly to Feinstein, opting instead to route it through her Northern California congresswoman. — Gregg Re, Fox News, "Kavanaugh accuser's details have changed, but she remains certain about abuse," 23 Sep. 2018 The modern American way of war needs space to prevail on the battlefield—to keep track of adversaries, route communications traffic, and guide bombs to their destinations. — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, "Who Wins in a US-China Space War?," 7 Sep. 2016 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

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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