road map
4
2.3
- noun
- /roʊd mæp/
:
mapa de carreteras
- But if I hadn't had my road map, I would have never completed the journey.
Examples
-
Adam selected a large, fold-out road map of Britain and a world atlas.
Fiction book (1991) -
We stopped at a gas station to get a road map of the area before continuing our journey.
-
Buy the road map and leave.
Fiction book (1996) -
When I was little, one of my favorite toys was an Ohio road map that my father picked up at a gas station.
Academic text (2001) -
How far to there?" Linda studied the Minnesota road map.
Fiction book (1993) -
His eyes drifted up to a county road map pinned to one wall.
Fiction book (1994) -
She finds her husband at the kitchen table, hunched over a road map.
Fiction book (1997) -
A gas station attendant in Maryland gave us a road map encompassing most of the East Coast.
Academic text (2009) -
For some reason, I quickly grabbed a road map and became intent on it, as if I were a traveler who had paused only a moment to get his bearings.
Fiction book (1996) -
Parked behind her, Mitchell furrowed his brow and squinted at a road map, disappearing within its folds.
Fiction book (1999)
Synonyms
∞
1.0
A drawing that shows where roads and towns are
1
3.2
A paper or digital map that shows streets and routes for travel
A book that gives information about roads and routes, often with maps
How Detailed
4
2.3
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a detailed plan to guide progress' is a straightforward, literalizable metaphor from 'road' (a route toward a destination) + 'map' (a guide for navigation); together they naturally suggest a guide for reaching a goal. This compositional pattern is common across languages (e.g. Spanish 'hoja de ruta'), so a B1 learner who knows both words is likely to infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Road map originally referred to paper maps drivers used to find their way on real roads. People would open the map, trace a route and follow it, so it means 'a map to help you travel'.