noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of passageway
Explanation
A passageway is a hall or a walkway that connects one area to another. You might pass from a small museum through a passageway to an outdoor sculpture garden, for example. Passageways typically connect rooms or buildings to each other, and they're generally walled and slightly narrow. A passageway in a hotel might lead from an elevator to your fancy suite, and a castle might be full of stone passageways leading from room to room, some of them hidden in the walls. This noun is American in origin, from passage and its French root passer, "to go by" and way, "road or path."
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.
See Examples For:
Iran kept the Strait of Hormuz—once the passageway for 20% of the world’s crude oil—effectively closed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 1, 2026
Prabowo said on Monday that Indonesia and Singapore "have an interest in keeping the Strait of Malacca as a free passageway".
From Barron's ● Jul. 6, 2026
Several Middle Eastern countries are exploring on-land alternatives to the passageway, such as new pipelines or pipeline expansions.
From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026
Reports say the deal could allow "unrestricted" passage through the Strait of Hormuz, and that Iran would have 30 days to remove mines from the narrow shipping passageway.
From BBC ● May 28, 2026
“Go to the first door and open it. When we’re inside, we’re going to the closet. There’s a passageway through there.”
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
Footage shared by the rescue groups show the cave divers crawling into the cave through narrow, muddy passageways that are almost completely flooded.
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
There are romantic ruins, secret passageways and cryptic clues to hidden treasure.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026
The move could bring some barrels back into circulation relatively quickly as one of the world’s major maritime passageways, the Strait of Hormuz, remains effectively shut.
From MarketWatch ● Mar. 13, 2026
Code 22-1307, which prohibits individuals from crowding or obstructing streets, sidewalks, building entrances, or other passageways, and D.C.
From Slate ● Sep. 1, 2025
Next he moved through the hidden passageways to the ring of clocks around the train platforms, and then to the backs of the smaller clocks that faced the interior offices, including the Station Inspector’s.
From "The Invention of Hugo Cabret" by Brian Selznick
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.
