private road
3
3.3
- noun
- /ˈpraɪvɪt roʊd/
:
camino privado
- The private road was lined with trees and led directly to their secluded home.
- end of a private road
- private road leads
Examples
-
About a mile up from the dam, we veer off Highway 6 and take the private road that runs past Mr. Murphy's house.
Fiction book (1996) -
The house sits along a private road on a hill above the Old Georgetown Swim Club, where crews were stationed to access the back of the house.
Blog text (21) -
This is a private road.
-
This is a private road, and these gates are to keep down the flow of traffic.
-
We used to just find farmers with private roads and private forests for practice.
-
The boy had never been down the private road to the Ballard house.
Fiction book (1992) -
The station wagon pulls off the main dirt road and onto a smaller, private road.
Fiction book (1993) -
Well, there's a private road at the end of Scotland Drive that leads to, man, the prettiest little house you ever saw.
-
Josephine assumed she'd find the shrine in a wooded glen down a private road.
Fiction book (1993) -
Set far back, even from this private road, were the houses: tall, ornate, gabled, and turreted, half hidden by brick walls, stonework, and the giant old trees that surrounded them; they stood comfortable and secure within their grounds.
Fiction book (2000)
Synonyms
285
1.0
A short private road from the street to a house or garage where cars park
156
2.8
A private road that leads from the street to a house
How Private
3
3.3
285
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning of 'private road' is directly compositional: 'private' (belonging to/reserved for specific people) modifies 'road' (a constructed surface for vehicles), so a B1 learner who knows both words can readily infer a road owned or reserved by private parties. There is no idiomatic or metaphorical shift and this pattern matches equivalent constructions in many languages, making the phrase transparently interpretable.
Etymology
Private road is a simple compound: private means 'not open to the public' and road means a path for cars or people. Picture a gate and a 'No entry' sign on that path, and you can see why it means a road owned and used by a person or group, not open to everyone.