Route — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

noun verb /ˈrüt/

Meaning & Definition of Route

Route (noun)

  1. a traveled way, highway
  2. a means of access, channel
  3. a line of travel, course

Route (verb)

  1. to send by a selected route, direct
  2. to divert in a specified direction

Route (noun) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. a passage cleared for public vehicular travel

    "take Route 190 for six miles, then get off"

    similar: arterial, artery, avenue, boulevard, carriageway (British), drag, drive, expressway, freeway, high road, highway, pass, pike, road, roadway, row, street, thoroughfare, thruway, trace, turnpike, way
    related: causeway, autobahn, autoroute, autostrada, dual carriageway (chiefly British), interstate, motorway (chiefly British), superhighway, beltway, bypass, parkway, ring road (chiefly British), corniche, switchback, through street, high street (British), Main Street, backstreet, branch, bystreet, byway, crossroad, secondary road, shunpike, side road, side street, alley, alleyway, circle, lane, laneway (British), mews (chiefly British), place, close (chiefly British), cul-de-sac, dead end, corridor, track, trail

  2. an established course for traveling from one place to another

    "we're going to get stuck in traffic if we take the usual route"

    similar: approach, avenue, passage, path, way
    related: bypath, byway, lane, laneway (British), artery, boulevard, bypass, drive, expressway, freeway, high road, highway, pass, passageway, pike, road, roadway, routeway (chiefly British), row, street, thoroughfare, turnpike, walk, walkway, trace, track, trail, airway, bikeway, cycleway (British), channel, gat, watercourse, waterway, door, doorway, gate, gateway, hatch, portal

  3. the direction along which something or someone moves

    "hurricanes generally take a northerly route up the Atlantic seaboard"

    similar: course, line, path, pathway, routeway (chiefly British), steps, track, way
    related: circle, circuit, loop, orbit, arc, flight path, trajectory, ascent, descent

Route (verb) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

  1. to point out the way for (someone) especially from a position in front

    "the guide routed us smoothly through the jungle"

    similar: conduct, direct, guide, lead, marshal, pilot, show, steer, usher
    related: precede, accompany, attend, chaperone, convoy, escort, see, control, manage
    opposite: follow, trail
    near: dog, hound, shadow, tail, tailgate

Related Entry: Rout (verb)

Rout is a different word from Route. The synonyms below are for rout, not for route.

  1. to defeat by a large margin

    "as expected, the professional team had no trouble routing the amateurs"

    similar: annihilate, blow away, bomb, bury, clobber, cream, drub, dust, flatten, paste, shellac, skin, skunk, smoke (slang), smother, snow under, thrash, trim, tromp, trounce, wallop, wax (slang), whip, whomp, whop, whup, beat the pants off, eat alive, run circles around, wipe the floor with
    related: sweep, upset, beat, best, conquer, dispatch, hurdle, lick, master, overbear, overcome, overmatch, prevail (over), subdue, surmount, take, throw, triumph (over), win (against), worst, crush, knock off, knock over, overpower, overthrow, overwhelm, subjugate, upend, vanquish, ace (out), better, eclipse, exceed, outdistance, outdo, outfight, outshine, outstrip, overtop, surpass, top, transcend, edge (out), nose out, pip (British), cap, excel, flourish, score, succeed, break, destroy, do in, finish, sink, slaughter

  2. to drive or force out

    "the nation's ground and air forces quickly routed the would-be invaders"

    similar: banish, boot (out), bounce, cast out, chase, dismiss, drum (out), eject, expel, extrude, kick out, oust, out, run off, throw out, turf (out) (chiefly British), turn out, give one the gate (slang), send packing
    related: deforce, deport, displace, dispossess, evict, exile, expatriate, ostracize, read out, shut out, ax, can, cashier, defenestrate, discharge, fire, muster out, pink-slip, release, remove, retire, sack, terminate
    near: accept, admit, receive, take, take in, welcome, entertain, harbor, house, lodge, shelter

Related Entry: Rout (noun)

Rout is a different word from Route. The synonyms below are for rout, not for route.

  1. failure to win a contest

    "the championship game was a humiliating rout for the team that had been favored to win"

    similar: beating, defeat, drubbing, licking, loss, lump, overthrow, plastering, shellacking, trimming, trouncing, whipping
    related: collapse, debacle, failure, fiasco, fizzle, flop, nonsuccess, setback, upset, lurch, shutout, washout, whitewash
    opposite: success, triumph, victory, win
    near: accomplishment, achievement, blowout, cakewalk, landslide, romp, runaway, sweep, walkaway, walkover

  2. the act or an instance of getting free from danger or confinement

    "in the mad rout from the school shooter, it was every person for himself"

    similar: break, breakout, bunk (British), escape, flight, getaway, lam, slip
    related: jailbreak, deliverance, liberation, redemption, release, rescue, salvation, close call, close shave, near miss
    near: captivity, confinement, immurement, imprisonment, incarceration, internment, custody, detention, hold, holding, retention, endangerment, hazard, imperilment, jeopardy, peril, risk, trouble

Related Entry: Rout (noun)

Rout is a different word from Route. The synonyms below are for rout, not for route.

  1. a great number of persons or creatures massed together

    "a great rout of rubberneckers had gathered around the scene of the accident"

    similar: army, bike (chiefly Scottish), cram, crowd, crush, drove, flock, herd, horde, host, legion, mass, mob, multitude, press, scrum, swarm, throng
    related: masses, millions, rabble, rabblement, riffraff, gaggle, heap, mountain, pile, jam, logjam

  2. people looked down upon as ignorant and of the lowest class

    "at first the protests were dismissed as nothing more than the idle doings of the restless rout"

    similar: proletariat, rabble, rabblement, ragtag and bobtail, riffraff, scum, tag, rag, and bobtail, trash, unwashed
    related: dregs, commoners, commons, herd, hoi polloi, masses, millions, mob, multitude, people, plebeians, populace, public, rank and file, bourgeoisie, middle class, working class
    opposite: A-list, aristocracy, elite, gentry, quality, society, upper class, upper crust
    near: elect, establishment, gentlefolk, nobility, peerage

Related Entry: Rout (out) (verb)

Rout (out) is a different word from Route. The synonyms below are for rout (out), not for route.

  1. to come upon after searching, study, or effort

    "if you give me some time, I can probably rout out more supplies"

    similar: ascertain, descry, detect, determine, dig out, dig up, discover, dredge (up), ferret (out), find, find out, get, hit (on or upon), hunt (down or up), learn, locate, nose out, root (out), rummage, run down, scare up, scout (up), track (down), turn up
    related: espy, sight, spot, look for, search (for or out), seek
    opposite: miss, overlook, pass over
    near: lose, mislay, misplace, misset

Synonyms, Thesaurus & Another Word for Route

The most common words with a similar meaning to Route:

British: carriageway
Chiefly British: routeway
arterial, artery, avenue, boulevard, drag, drive, expressway, freeway, high road, highway, pass, pike, road, roadway, row, street, thoroughfare, thruway, trace, turnpike, way, approach, passage, path, course, line, pathway, steps, track, conduct, direct, guide, lead, marshal, pilot, show, steer, usher

Antonyms & Opposite Words for Route

Words with the opposite meaning of Route:

follow, trail

Related Words for Route

causeway, autobahn, autoroute, autostrada, dual carriageway, interstate, motorway, superhighway, beltway, bypass, parkway, ring road, corniche, switchback, through street, high street, Main Street, backstreet, branch, bystreet, byway, crossroad, secondary road, shunpike, side road, side street, alley, alleyway, circle, lane

Near Antonyms of Route

dog, hound, shadow, tail, tailgate

Word Forms of Route

Inflections: routed, routing

Origin & Etymology of Route

Middle English rute, route, borrowed from Anglo-French rute, going back to Vulgar Latin *rupta (short for *rupta via, literally, "broken way, forced passage," after Latin viam rumpere "to force a passage"), from feminine of ruptus, past participle of rumpere "to break, burst," going back to Indo-European *ru-n-p-, nasal present formation from the base *reu̯p- "break, tear" reave

First known use: 13th century

Vocabulary Lists & Topics for Route

Words & Phrases Containing Route

route step, en route, rural route, star route

Frequently Asked Questions about Route

What does "Route" mean?

"Route" means a traveled way, highway. As an a noun and a verb, it is defined as: a traveled way, highway. It has 4 distinct senses.

What is another word for "Route"?

Other words for "Route" include arterial, artery, avenue, boulevard, carriageway, drag, drive and expressway. The best synonym depends on which meaning of "Route" you intend.

What are different ways to say "Route"?

There are 112 words and phrases with a similar meaning to "Route". Common alternatives include arterial, artery, avenue, boulevard, carriageway, drag, drive, expressway, freeway and high road.

What is the opposite of "Route"?

Antonyms of "Route" include follow and trail. Near antonyms include dog, hound, shadow and tail.

How do you use "Route" in a sentence?

Examples of "Route" in a sentence: "take Route 190 for six miles, then get off"; "we're going to get stuck in traffic if we take the usual route"; "hurricanes generally take a northerly route up the Atlantic seaboard".

Is "Route" a noun, verb, or adjective?

"Route" can be used as a noun and a verb, depending on the context.

Is "Route" useful for IELTS, TOEFL, and other English exams?

It is on the Academic Word List, so it appears often in IELTS Academic, TOEFL iBT, PTE Academic, and university texts.

How do you pronounce "Route"?

"Route" is pronounced /ˈrüt/.