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Synonyms

ways

1 American  
[weyz] / weɪz /

noun

(used with a singular verb)

  1. way.

-ways 2 American  

  1. a suffix appearing in native English adverbs.

    always; sideways.
-ways British  

suffix

  1. indicating direction or manner

    sideways
"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

Etymology

Origin of ways1

Middle English weyes, Old English weges, genitive singular of weg way 1

Origin of -ways2

Middle English; way 1, -s 1

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Games afford us the exhilaration of getting outside ourselves with new incentives, powers and ways to strive.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 15, 2026

She’s getting more famous — drawing more and more people away from the influencer pop-ups and into her tent at Coachella — her life, in many ways, fulfilling the very impulse she mistrusts.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026

It looks at ways of reducing nutrients and supporting the recovery of the Lough.

From BBC • Apr. 15, 2026

Some drugs represent genuine breakthroughs, based on new biological mechanisms and offering fundamentally new ways to treat diseases.

From MarketWatch • Apr. 15, 2026

In some ways it was pretty cool, but in others it really stunk.

From "Glitch" by Laura Martin

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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