Skip to main content
pathway

pathway

39 2.7
A track made by people or animals that is worn down
  • noun
  • /ˈpæθweɪ/
translation icon : sendero
  • The pathway leading to the beach was lined with colorful flowers.
  • pathway map

I'm not sure if that's the pathway that alien civilizations take.

Autoplay Next

Examples

  • Small children run along the grassy pathways, sometimes through the middle of another family's lunch.

    Fiction book (1998)
  • When they were done eating, they began again treading the faint pathways they had worn in the dirt.

    Fiction book (1997)
  • But everyone else should try and find a different pathway off this beach.

  • Do you see a pathway up to the house anywhere?

  • Is there a pathway to your bedroom?

  • As long as he was following some pathway, walking, going down, he felt strong.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • "Warren?" she called as she ran down the pathway with a wild, lost look on her face.

    Fiction book (1996)
  • The girls walked ahead of us down the pathway to the latest memorial.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • And we descended through these very rocky pathways, quite slippery.

  • You see, my friends, forgiveness is a balm for our wounded souls and a pathway to healing the scars inflicted.

Synonyms

way
vspathway
1.0

A path or road from one place to another

is narrower, meaning a beaten track made by many passes rather than any route
course
vspathway
2.0

The path something moves along, for example a plane or a river

is more physical and worn, made by repeated passage rather than a mere direction
route
vspathway
1.0

A road or path people use to travel between places

is narrower, being a worn track made by repeated passage not a formal road
path
vspathway
969 1.0

A way or track that people and things move along for travel

is more about a worn line made by repeated passage than general routes
trail
vspathway
231 1.4

A visible sign left where a person or animal has passed

is instead a worn track formed by many passages rather than a single sign
footpath
vspathway
  • UK
9 1.9

A narrow path for people to walk on away from roads

is defined by being beaten down through frequent use rather than narrowness
edgeway
vspathway
  • Archaic
1 9.9

An old narrow path that runs along the edge of a field or cliff

is a general worn track from many passes, not specifically along an edge
trackway
vspathway
1 7.0

Marks on the ground that animals, people, or vehicles make when they move

is specifically formed and beaten down by frequent use over time
cart track
vspathway
1 4.8

A rough path made by cart wheels

is created by frequent foot or animal passage rather than primarily carts
footway
vspathway
  • UK
2.5

A path for people to walk on beside a road

is formed by repeated passage across ground rather than built for roadsides
common run
vspathway
3.6

A path that many people or vehicles use regularly

is specifically a worn track produced by repeated use rather than any busy route
bypath
vspathway
  • Archaic
7.5

A small quiet path in the countryside that few people use

is the opposite, being clearly formed and beaten down by frequent use

Antonyms

43 4.4

A thing that blocks a passage like a pipe or artery

Compounds

nerve pathway
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A group of long cells that carry signals between body parts and the brain

A way to reach success in work or goals

monosynaptic pathway
  • Specialized
8.2

A nerve pathway that sends a signal across one connection between two nerve cells

A route that is hard to find and often used in secret

A process someone follows to get better after illness, injury, or hard times

uveoscleral pathway
  • Specialized
8.2

A route in the eye that drains extra watery fluid through the colored layer and the white outer layer

How Big

highway
629 1.0
road
1.0
track
2.2
pathway
39 2.7
footpath
  • UK
9 1.9

Surface Forms

pathway singular
pathways plural

Morphology

pathway = path + way (transparent) = path + way

A straightforward compound of two common nouns whose combined meaning 'a route for walking' is directly inferable.

Etymology

Pathway comes from two simple words, path ('a track') and way ('a route'). It brings to mind a walk worn down by many feet, which is why pathway means a path or track made by people or animals over time.