ROUTES Synonyms: 123 Similar and Opposite Words

routes 1 of 2

noun

plural of route

as in roads

a passage cleared for public vehicular travel take Route 190 for six miles, then get off

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

as in paths

an established course for traveling from one place to another we're going to get stuck in traffic if we take the usual route

Synonyms & Similar Words

as in ways

the direction along which something or someone moves hurricanes generally take a northerly route up the Atlantic seaboard

Synonyms & Similar Words

routes

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of route

as in guides

to point out the way for (someone) especially from a position in front the guide routed us smoothly through the jungle

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 routes

Noun

Bab al-Mandab, which translates as the Gate of Tears, is located at the southern end of the Red Sea and is a critical gateway to the Suez Canal, linking Europe and Asia through one of the world’s busiest shipping routes. — Jomana Karadsheh, CNN Money, 21 July 2026 Dipping up and down between mountains and villages, the path takes walkers along Edo-period highways, old mining roads, and ancient routes used for shugendo, Japanese spiritual tradition involving ascetic training on mountain pilgrimages. — Gloria Liu, Travel + Leisure, 20 July 2026 One of the key bus-only lanes routes is along Burbank’s busy Olive Avenue, between Buena Vista and Lake streets. — Steve Scauzillo, Daily News, 20 July 2026 His Bee Network, an integrated transport system of buses, trams, walking routes, and rental bikes, is a big hit with the Mancunian public. — John Cassidy, New Yorker, 20 July 2026 Their ability to catch passes, run routes and show off quickness is creating excitement. — Eric Sondheimer, Los Angeles Times, 20 July 2026 Passenger EVs are built to maximize range, public charging networks and unpredictable routes. — Darren Tan, Forbes.com, 20 July 2026 Enforcement will be focused on the 20 Madison, 36 Broadway and 66 Chicago Avenue bus routes, with plans to expand to the 8 Halsted bus when ongoing construction is completed. — A.d. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 19 July 2026 Their main fantasy appeal comes from players with secure minutes, penalties and multiple routes to points. — Abdul Rehman, New York Times, 14 July 2026

Verb

Genie Code, its coding agent, routes tasks across frontier, open-source, and custom models instead of binding customers to a single vendor. — Jon Markman, Forbes.com, 10 July 2026 The lymphatic system collects that fluid from your tissues and routes it through a network of vessels, nodes and organs running parallel to the circulatory system throughout nearly the entire body, per StatPearls. — Allison Palmer, Charlotte Observer, 29 June 2026 Charter routes much of the traffic through its Wi-Fi networks. — Kelcee Griffis, Fortune, 27 June 2026 Other steps include creating a greeting, enabling call recording (if your plan supports it), and setting business hours (which determines whether the system sends a customer to voicemail right away or routes the call). — John Brandon, PC Magazine, 17 June 2026 In addition, the new system routes incoming calls to the closest of the county’s three call centers, switching automatically to another county center if any one should become flooded with calls, and even recruiting nearby counties in the rare event all three county centers are overwhelmed. — Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 9 June 2026 For images, Google routes your prompt to Nano Banana. — ArsTechnica, 19 May 2026 This is software that encrypts data traffic and routes it through private tunnels to secure servers to prevent anyone from being able to read it. — ABC News, 22 Apr. 2026 The platform that routes content to the right provider, enforces terminology, tracks usage, maintains audit trails, and integrates with CI/CD pipelines and CMS platforms becomes the product. — Wyles Daniel, USA Today, 15 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for routes

Noun

In parts of Uvalde County, muddy floodwaters covered roads and fields and rose nearly as high as houses' rooftops, according to a video posted by Texas Department of Public Safety.

— Bill Chappell, NPR, 16 July 2026
Bulldozers shuffled right through the rubble to make roads that cut Gaza into separate sections.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 16 July 2026

Definition of roads

Noun

Taking care of their own Across Hill Country, the floodwaters carved different paths of destruction.

— Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 20 July 2026
When done well, this can create room for people to move up the value chain, but only if organizations intentionally redesign roles, performance metrics, and career paths around this new reality.

— Nigel Vaz, Time, 20 July 2026

Definition of paths

Noun

Then Nicolas Tagliafico, a poor defender up against a great attacker in Lamine Yamal, took to attempting to foul the winger in four different ways at once, but most unpleasantly grazed his studs down Yamal’s calf.

— Adam Crafton, New York Times, 20 July 2026
Japanese festivals often serve as ways for deities to be brought into the streets for sacred or ritual purposes while also bringing communities together in celebration.

— ABC News, ABC News, 19 July 2026

Definition of ways

Noun

The colossal billboards by the side of highways advertising legal representation.

— Nick Miller, New York Times, 18 July 2026
Flash flooding of small creeks, streams, urban areas, highways, streets and underpasses, as well as areas with poor drainage and low-lying areas, was possible.

— Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 16 July 2026

Definition of highways

Noun

Masahiko Imai, 54, who also works at the garden, quietly explores solutions through various approaches, such as transplanting, soil preparation, planting shade trees and conducting cultivation experiments.

— Hiroshige Yazawa Japan News, Arkansas Online, 19 July 2026
This compatibility could make large-scale production more realistic than approaches requiring specialized fabrication techniques.

— Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 19 July 2026

Definition of approaches

Noun

Uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing are the two main pathways to create the core material necessary to build nuclear weapons.

— Arpita Dasika, CNN Money, 22 July 2026
This significant transaction, announced Wednesday, marks the first transfer since IndyCar's Charter System began in late 2024, proving its intended purpose of creating team value and clear entry pathways.

— Bruce Martin, Forbes.com, 22 July 2026

Definition of pathways

Verb

Schumer, who steers millions in outside spending through a constellation of PACs, threatened to freeze all investments in Maine unless Platner ends his campaign, but has otherwise stayed silent on the jockeying.

— David Sivak, The Washington Examiner, 7 July 2026
That warming changes where thunderstorms develop near the equator, which can shift the jet stream — the fast-moving river of air that steers storms across North America.

— Brandi D. Addison, USA Today, 7 July 2026

Definition of steers

Browse Nearby Words

routed (out)

routes

routeway

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Style

“Routes.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/routes. Accessed 23 Jul. 2026.

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Synonyms of routes

noun

verb

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