en route

American  

[ahn root, en, ahn root] / ɑn ˈrut, ɛn, ɑ̃ ˈrut /

adverb

1. on the way.

   The plane crashed en route from Cairo to Athens.

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en route British  

/ ɑ̃ rut, ɒn ˈruːt /

adverb

1. on or along the way; on the road

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en route Idioms  

1. On or along the way, as in We'll pick up Dan en route to the restaurant, or We can finish our discussion en route. This French term was adopted into English in the late 1700s.

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Etymology

Origin of en route

Borrowed into English from French around 1770–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

en route

They got into a rented white Cadillac to pursue Knight and Shakur, who were en route to Club 662, a Vegas nightclub owned by Knight.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026

A British Airways flight en route to Portugal was forced to return to Gatwick Airport on Tuesday due to a minor technical issue, reported to be a cracked window.

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Florida Highway Patrol officers pulled over Kenny Laynez, a U.S. citizen who was en route to a landscaping job with his mother and two co-workers.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026

As the flydubai Boeing 737 flew over northwestern Saudi Arabia en route from Dubai to Tel Aviv, the co-pilot suddenly attacked his captain, according to Israeli officials.

From Barron's ● Oct. 1, 2026

In the ambulance en route to the hospital, Vivian sat up front with the driver, who was also a paramedic.

From "Silent To The Bone" by E.L. Konigsburg

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