roads

noun

plural of road
1
as in highways
a passage cleared for public vehicular travel I think we should take one of the less congested roads

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in railroads
a roadway overlaid with parallel steel rails over which trains travel the railway companies are continually repairing their roads

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of roads As the hundreds of thousands of people made their way down the narrow roads following the politician, a few rerouted into the industry event, still carrying big flags and with faces lit up with hope. — Rafa Sales Ross, Variety, 7 Oct. 2026 The landscape was inspired by the inland town of Ioulida, a hilltop village with cascading residential dwellings and winding paths (no car-worthy roads), and a church perched at the precipice. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 Oct. 2026 In some parts of the country, dangerous sinkholes are opening as aging, abandoned mine infrastructure erodes beneath communities, roads and public lands. — ABC News, 6 Oct. 2026 Rising sea levels with climate change are already inundating seaside roads, railways, and neighborhoods in California. — Justine Calma, The Verge, 6 Oct. 2026 Two people were killed in as many crashes on Arkansas roads on Friday, according to preliminary police reports. — Rafael Escalera Montoto, Arkansas Online, 30 Sep. 2026 Rain was also developing near Key Largo, with slick roads possible during the morning commute. — Lissette Gonzalez, CBS News, 29 Sep. 2026 Respondents supported making roads safer, addressing congestion and maintaining the city’s parks and bike trails. — Haley Parsley, Sacbee.com, 29 Sep. 2026 The roads initially served a military purpose, the professor added. — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for roads
  1. highways
  2. railroads
  3. streets
  4. railways
  5. thoroughfares
  6. freeways
  7. routes
  8. expressways
Noun
  • In Chile in 2024, several hundred demonstrators burned tires and blocked coastal highways and railway tracks to protest the early closure of the fishing season, a move partly driven by overfishing tied to fishmeal.
    — Ian Urbina, Los Angeles Times, 9 Oct. 2026
  • The red dye also allows a road inspector to detect whether a trucker is evading taxes by using the fuel on highways.
    — Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of highways
Noun
  • In the past, economies ran on toll roads and railroads and pipelines that were physical.
    — Tim McDonnell, semafor.com, 5 Oct. 2026
  • American railroads were once the envy of the world and the engine of its industrial age.
    — Chris Isidore, CNN Money, 4 Oct. 2026
Definition of railroads
Noun
  • Police intervene at the scene using tear gas as students take to the streets to protest education conditions in Nancy, France, on October 7, 2026.
    — Jenni Reid, CNBC, 8 Oct. 2026
  • The construction bottleneck often extends traffic three or four blocks back on streets north of Front Street, like 9th, 11th and 13th, Atchley said.
    — Rachel Roberts, Idaho Statesman, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of streets
Noun
  • Uganda then had a large population of Indian immigrants, who had been brought over by the British at the end of the nineteenth century to help construct railways, and who eventually established more economic autonomy and power than Black Ugandans.
    — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 3 Sep. 2026
  • These have included arson, high-profile hacks, GPS jamming as well as sabotage actions against key infrastructure, including undersea communication cables, logistics centers and railways.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of railways
Noun
  • The resulting long lineups snake out from working gas stations into the main thoroughfares of Moscow and other Russian cities.
    — Fred Weir, Christian Science Monitor, 9 Oct. 2026
  • Rancho Cordova was awarded more than $3 million in grants from a local agency for two road improvement projects on major city thoroughfares.
    — Camryn Dadey, Sacbee.com, 7 Oct. 2026
Definition of thoroughfares
Noun
  • Opponents argue the proposal weakens environmental protections, stifles community input and could fast-track projects like data centers and freeways.
    — Lila Seidman, Los Angeles Times, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Suburbs stretch their undulating freeways into the grid, sucking out nutrients (and cutting through neighborhoods).
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of freeways
Noun
  • Its aim is to make rail practical for shipments that are often moved by trucks because conventional freight trains are less flexible on shorter routes.
    — Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 11 Oct. 2026
  • But Huang regards it as just another attractor in the landscape — albeit a potentially catastrophic one — that can be all too easily accessed by many different routes.
    — Quanta Magazine, Quanta Magazine, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of routes
Noun
  • Bikes are not allowed to on freeways or expressways, and cyclists cannot pass through tolls unless the signs nearby dictate otherwise.
    — Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The firm noted that major bridges like the Donghai Bridge and the Hangzhou Bay Bridge, as well as regional expressways, have reopened with standard speed limits restored.
    — Glenn Taylor, Footwear News, 11 Aug. 2026
Definition of expressways

Browse Nearby Words

road rage
roads
roadstead
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Cite this Entry

“Roads.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/roads. Accessed 11 Oct. 2026.

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