Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A road, path, or highway affording passage from one place to another.
  • noun An opening affording passage.
  • noun Space to proceed.
  • noun Opportunity to advance.
  • noun A course that is or may be used in going from one place to another.
  • noun Progress or travel along a certain route or in a specific direction.
  • noun Informal Distance.
  • noun A course of conduct or action.
  • noun A manner or method of doing something: synonym: method.
  • noun Used with a personal pronoun as the object of various verbs to indicate progress toward an objective.
  • noun A usual or habitual manner or mode of being, living, or acting.
  • noun An individual or personal manner of behaving, acting, or doing.
  • noun A specific direction.
  • noun A participant. Often used in combination.
  • noun An aspect, particular, or feature.
  • noun Nature or category.
  • noun Freedom to do as one wishes.
  • noun An aptitude or facility.
  • noun A state or condition.
  • noun Vicinity.
  • noun A longitudinal strip on a surface that serves to guide a moving machine part.
  • noun Nautical The structure on which a ship is built and from which it slides when launched.
  • adverb Informal By a great distance or to a great degree; far.
  • adverb Slang Very; extremely.
  • adverb Informal From this place; away.
  • adverb Informal Used in response to no way to indicate affirmation contradicting a negative assertion.
  • idiom (all the way) From beginning to end; completely.
  • idiom (by the way) Incidentally.
  • idiom (by way of) Through; via.
  • idiom (by way of) As a means of.
  • idiom ((one's)/the) To inconvenience oneself in doing something beyond what is required.
  • idiom (in a way) To a certain extent; with reservations.
  • idiom (in a way) From one point of view.
  • idiom (in the way) In a position to obstruct, hinder, or interfere.
  • idiom (no way) Certainly not.
  • idiom ((one's)/the) In the process of coming, going, or traveling.
  • idiom (on the way) On the route of a journey.
  • idiom (out of the way) In such a position as not to obstruct, hinder, or interfere.
  • idiom (out of the way) Taken care of; disposed of.
  • idiom (out of the way) In a remote location.
  • idiom (out of the way) Of an unusual character; remarkable.
  • idiom (out of the way) Improper; amiss.
  • idiom (the way) In the manner that.
  • idiom (under way) In motion or operation.

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Middle English, from Old English weg; see wegh- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Old English weġ, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-. Cognate with Dutch weg, German Weg, Swedish väg, Latin vehō, via, Albanian udhë.

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Examples

  • That said, looking at this crowd, I think it was way, * way* more than the published guestimate of 200,000.

    McCain To Be In German Restaurant While Obama Gives Berlin Speech 2009

  • August 24, 2009 at 11:28 am hee hee. ai had to go bak and reed taht agin. taht is purty funnee. ***waves grey floofy paw inna way ober der across the us way***

    TONIGHT - Lolcats 'n' Funny Pictures of Cats - I Can Has Cheezburger? 2009

  • He just lies there, in his quiet pillow man way, on top of my lilac duvet (~because you always liked it best on top in your not so quiet way~)

    wendchymes Diary Entry wendchymes 2007

  • I don't wanna be this way, but I really do not know any other way~ and yet, then why am I so afraid to die?

    wendchymes Diary Entry wendchymes 2007

  • Fifteen years ago maybe they would have had the clout to start pushing digital reading devices something that's way, _way_ overdue, and not because it's a terrible idea at its root like the flying car, but they probably don't now.

    Is Marvel’s Digital Library Good? | Comics Should Be Good! @ Comic Book Resources 2007

  • They had so many dead bodies coming from the Ninth Ward up our way and they had people that was drowned up my way, [I was] pushing them out the way….

    Alive In Truth 2005

  • But things have a funny way of going the opposite way…

    j-gan Diary Entry j-gan 2004

  • I got the kickback ten minutes later, and the scene went from way off to way, _way_ off.

    Hollywood Nocturne Ellroy, James 1994

  • QUOTATION: Upon the standard to which the wise and honest will now repair it is written: “You have lived the easy way; henceforth, you will live the hard way….

    Walter Lippmann (1889-1974) 1989

  • "In some way she had found out that Jerry Belknap was a man to be bought; she obtained an interview with him, and offered him two thousand dollars if he would _get John Burrill out of her way_!"

    The Diamond Coterie Lawrence L. Lynch

Comments

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  • Sounds like "buey" in Spanish. Makes my students giggle.

    July 4, 2007

  • Yaw in reverse.

    November 3, 2007

  • An affirmative:

    "No way!"

    "Way."

    April 17, 2008