- road
- nounADJECTIVE▪ broad, wide▪ narrow▪ busy, congested▪ clear, deserted, empty, lonely, quiet▪
Let's leave when the roads are clear.
▪ direct▪The airport's near here but there's no direct road.
▪ straight▪ curvy (AmE), twisting, twisty, winding, windy▪ steep▪ scenic▪ asphalt, blacktop (AmE), cobbled, cobblestone (esp. AmE), flat, gravel, metalled (esp. BrE), paved, Tarmac™ (esp. BrE)▪ good, smooth▪ passable▪All main roads were passable with care.
▪ bad, bumpy (often figurative), dirt (esp. AmE), poor, rough, rutted, unmade (BrE), unpaved▪a bumpy road through the forest
▪ dangerous, difficult, hard, rocky, tough (all usually figurative)▪Bringing up a handicapped child can be a long and hard road.
▪ easy (often figurative)▪It isn't going to be an easy road for him.
▪ safe▪ slick (AmE), slippery▪ dusty, icy, muddy, snowy, wet▪ fast▪ dark (often figurative)▪ long (often figurative), main, major, national, trunk (BrE)▪ back, local, minor (esp. BrE), secondary, small, unclassified (BrE)▪ old▪the old dirt road to the village
▪ new▪the building of new roads
▪ one-lane, two-lane, etc.▪ single-track (BrE)▪ country, rural▪ urban (esp. BrE)▪ county (esp. AmE)▪ residential (esp. BrE)▪ tree-lined▪ private, public▪ dead-end (often figurative)▪The government's policy on education is a dead-end road.
▪ open▪We'll be able to go faster once we're out on the open road.
▪ right, wrong▪We took the wrong road and had to turn back.
▪It does appear we are on the right road to success. (figurative)
▪ east-west, etc.▪ canyon (AmE), coast (esp. BrE), coastal, country, desert, forest, mountain▪ logging▪ airport▪ access, arterial (esp. BrE), bypass, feeder, frontage (AmE), perimeter, ring (BrE), side, slip (BrE)▪ high, low▪ tollVERB + ROAD▪ follow, go down▪Follow the road around to the left.
▪We have discussed privatization, but we would prefer not to go down that road. (figurative)
▪ take, turn into (BrE), turn onto▪Take the next road on the right.
▪Turn right into Harpes Road.
▪Turn left onto the coastal road.
▪ turn off▪ pull (out) into (BrE), pull (out) onto▪He was hit by another car as he pulled out onto the road.
▪ leave, pull off▪They stopped in a forest, leaving the main road.
▪The car left the road and slid to a halt.
▪I pulled off the road for a rest.
▪ drive (esp. AmE), travel (also figurative), walk (esp. AmE, often figurative)▪I must have driven the back roads for half an hour.
▪They have travelled/traveled the long, lonely road of exclusion.
▪He walks a road filled with shadow and doubt.
▪ choose▪We have chosen the road of peace.
▪ cross, get across▪ join, meet (esp. AmE)▪The track joins the main road just south of the town.
▪ block, block off (esp. AmE), blockade, close, cordon off (BrE)▪Angry farmers blocked the road with their tractors.
▪Police cordoned off the road and diverted commuter traffic.
▪ clog, clog up (BrE)▪Traffic clogs the roads.
▪ clear▪The crowd eventually cleared the road.
▪They cleared the roads of snow.
▪ build, construct, rebuild▪ maintain, mend (BrE), repair▪ pave, resurface (BrE), surface (BrE)▪ widen▪ line▪Huge eucalyptuses lined the road.
▪The crowds lined the roads for his triumphal entry.
ROAD + VERB▪ go, lead, run▪Where does this road go?
▪The road runs parallel to the river.
▪ stretch▪the road stretched out before them.
▪The road stretches off into the distance.
▪ bend (BrE), curve, turn, twist, wind▪The road twists and turns up the hillside.
▪ climb▪The road climbs steeply from the beach.
▪ cross sth▪The road crosses the river further up the valley.
▪ connect sth, link sth▪the road connecting Irado and Calla Ayda
▪ branch (esp. BrE), branch off, fork▪Our road branches off to the left just past the woods.
▪ narrow, widen▪The road narrowed and turned into this dirt trail.
ROAD + NOUN▪ atlas, map▪ markings, sign▪ intersection, junction▪ bridge, crossing, tunnel▪ closure▪ block (usually roadblock), blockade▪ bump, hump (BrE) (usually speed humps in BrE, speed bumps in AmE)▪Road bumps have been laid down to limit the speed of cars.
▪ infrastructure, network, system▪the surrounding road system
▪ layout (BrE)▪ access, link▪There is still no road access to the island.
▪ development, plan (esp. BrE), programme/program (esp. BrE), project, proposal (BrE), scheme (BrE)▪ building, construction▪loans for road construction and infrastructure development
▪ maintenance, repair▪the cost of road maintenance
▪ improvements▪ surface▪ journey (esp. BrE), trip (informal, esp. AmE)▪ accident, crash (esp. BrE), smash (BrE), traffic accident▪ safety▪ deaths, fatalities (both esp. BrE)▪ conditions▪ salt▪ traffic, vehicles▪ race▪ racer▪ course▪ bike▪ test▪ engineer (esp. BrE)▪ haulier (BrE) (hauler in AmE)▪ haulage (BrE)▪ sweeper (esp. BrE)▪ pricing, tax (in the UK), toll (esp. BrE)▪Road tax is set to rise in next month's budget.
▪Road tolls can make driving expensive.
▪ user▪ hog (informal)▪ warrior (esp. AmE)▪ crew▪ rage▪A man has been stabbed to death in a road-rage attack.
▪ manners, sense (both esp. BrE)▪poor driving standards and lack of road manners
▪ kill (usually roadkill)▪scavengers that feed off roadkill
▪ rash (= scratches on the skin from falling from a bicycle) (AmE)▪She was treated for road rash.
▪ moviePREPOSITION▪ across the road▪The house across the road is for sale.
▪ along the road▪He was walking along the road when he was attacked.
▪ by road▪It takes three hours by road (= driving).
▪ down the road, up the road▪They live down the road from us.
▪ in the road▪There was a dog in the road so we stopped.
▪We live in Pinsley Road. (BrE)
▪We live on Pinsley Road. (BrE, AmE)
▪ into the road▪She stepped out into the road without looking.
▪ off the road▪My car's off the road at the moment while I recondition the engine.
▪ on a/the road▪There's something lying on the road.
▪There was a lot of traffic on the road this morning.
▪on the road to Damascus
▪My car is back on the road (= is working) again.
▪We'd been on the road since dawn and needed a rest.
▪ road along, road over, road through▪the main road through the town
▪ road from, road to▪the road to Acapulco
▪to be on the road to recovery/success (figurative)
PHRASES▪ at the side of the road (esp. BrE), by the side of the road, on the side of the road▪ the bottom of the road (BrE), the top of the road▪ the end of the road (often figurative)▪This latest disagreement could mean the end of the road for the band.
▪ a bend in the road, a fork in the road, a turn in the road▪We came to a fork in the road.
▪ the middle of the road▪A dog was sitting in the middle of the road, so we stopped.
▪ the middle road (figurative)▪Kaufman has opted to travel the middle road.
▪ a stretch of road▪a notoriously dangerous stretch of road
▪ hit the road▪The following spring I hit the road.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
