lane

1
[ leyn ]
See synonyms for lane on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a narrow way or passage between hedges, fences, walls, or houses.

  2. any narrow or well-defined passage, track, channel, or course.

  1. a longitudinally marked part of a highway wide enough to accommodate one vehicle, often set off from adjacent lanes by painted lines (often used in combination): a new six-lane turnpike.

  2. a fixed route followed by ocean steamers or airplanes.

  3. (in a running or swimming race) the marked-off space or path within which a competitor must remain during the course of a race.

  4. a long, narrow wooden track that a ball rolls down in a game of bowling.

  5. an area of interest or expertise that is associated with a person or group whose contributions or authority in that area are respected: Teen magazines should stay in their lane and stick to publishing articles about relationships, style, and beauty.

  6. Politics. an affiliation or faction that presents one path to nomination or election victory for candidates who espouse that ideology or embody its ideals: The libertarian candidates siphoned voters away from the conservative establishment lane in the primary.

  7. (in a MOBA video game) one of the major arteries on the map between the two strongholds in which the fighting between characters occurs: Our strategy is to push with a support character in the top lane.

Origin of lane

1
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch laan “avenue,” Old Norse lǫn “oblong hayrick, row of houses”

synonym study For lane

1. See path.

Other words for lane

Words that may be confused with lane

Words Nearby lane

Other definitions for lane (2 of 3)

lane2
[ leyn ]

adjective

Other definitions for Lane (3 of 3)

Lane
[ leyn ]

noun
  1. a male given name.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lane in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for lane (1 of 2)

lane1

/ (leɪn) /


noun
    • a narrow road or way between buildings, hedges, fences, etc

    • (capital as part of a street name): Drury Lane

    • any of the parallel strips into which the carriageway of a major road or motorway is divided

    • any narrow well-defined route or course for ships or aircraft

  1. one of the parallel strips into which a running track or swimming bath is divided for races

  2. the long strip of wooden flooring down which balls are bowled in a bowling alley

Origin of lane

1
Old English lane, lanu, of Germanic origin; related to Middle Dutch lāne lane

British Dictionary definitions for lane (2 of 2)

lane2

/ (leɪn) /


adjectiveScot dialect
  1. lone or alone

  2. one's lane or on one's lane on one's own

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Idioms and Phrases with lane

lane

see fast lane; lovers' lane.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.