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Glite Dictionary
in its path

in its path

18 1.3
In the way of a moving thing that can hit or damage things
  • idiom
translation icon : a su paso
  • That eats everything in its path.
  • obstacles in its path

So if you're in its path, please don't be.

Examples

  • The wildfire destroyed everything in its path, leaving nothing but ash and charred trees.

  • Many marine animals, birds, and other living organisms in its path were injured or killed.

    Academic text (2012)

  • It's going to destroy everything in its path: Infrastructure, survivors from the first wave.

    Apocalypse of Ice (2020)

  • This thing kills everything in its path.

    Outbreak (1995)

  • I think being famous just fed that pain, knocked down everything in its path.

    Forever My Girl (2018)

  • A 50-foot-high wall of water was scouring everything in its path, including our home.

    Academic text (2009)

  • Storm surge: a wall of ocean water that lurches onto land, crushing anyone and anything in its path.

    Academic text (2011)

  • The Realm marched its armies into the vastness of space, conquering everything in its path.

    Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)

  • Tiffany is the epicenter; from here, the wall of destruction grows outwardly, destroying everything in its path.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • The hurricane swept through the coast, devastating homes and infrastructure in its path.

Synonyms

on the way
vsin its path
663 1.0

Something or someone that is going to a place and will arrive soon

is positioned where another thing moves through rather than moving toward somewhere
in the way
vsin its path
519 2.4

Something that stops progress or blocks movement

sits directly ahead of something as it moves forward
en route
vsin its path
144 3.7

While traveling to a place

means being positioned where movement will pass not travelling toward anywhere

Antonyms

out of the way
356 2.6

Moved aside so it does not block people

How Obstructive

in its path
18 1.3
in the way
519 2.4

Surface Forms

in its path main

Morphology

in + its + path

The meaning 'in the way of something as it moves forward' is directly and compositionally derived from 'in' (position), 'its' (possessive), and 'path' (route); a learner who knows those words can reconstruct 'in its path' as 'in the thing's route/way'. This preposition + possessive + noun pattern is a basic, cross-linguistically common locative construction, making the phrase immediately comprehensible to B1 learners.

Etymology

In its path paints a picture of something moving forward and whatever lies on the path being hit or pushed aside. So, if something is 'in its path', it is in the way of that movement and will be directly affected or blocked.