avenue
Americannoun
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avenues
plural
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a wide street or main thoroughfare.
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a means of access or attainment.
avenues of escape; avenues to greater power.
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a way or means of entering into or approaching a place.
the various avenues to India.
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Chiefly British.
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a wide, usually tree-lined road, path, driveway, etc., through grounds to a country house or monumental building.
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a suburban, usually tree-lined residential street.
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noun
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a broad street, often lined with trees
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(capital as part of a street name) a road, esp in a built-up area
Shaftesbury Avenue
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a main approach road, as to a country house
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a way bordered by two rows of trees
an avenue of oaks
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a line of approach
explore every avenue
Synonym Usage
See street.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of avenue
First recorded in 1590–1600; from French, literally, “approach,” noun use of feminine past participle of avenir, from Latin advenīre “to come to.” See a- 5, venue
Explanation
An avenue is a street, especially a wide one lined with trees. An avenue is also any approach to doing something. For example, this web site might be a new avenue you have found for learning words. The word avenue comes from the French avenir, meaning "to come to, or arrive." The first meaning is simply a wide street. An avenue — or boulevard — is likely to be busy, unlike a quiet side street. The abbreviation is ave., as in Park Ave. Also, an avenue is a way to accomplish something. If you need money but can't get a loan, you'll have to find another avenue.
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:
Viral social media posts claim peptides can offer a range of seemingly miraculous benefits including glowing skin, stronger muscles, deeper sleep, a more alert mind -- and even provide an avenue to prevent ageing.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
Rogers Byamukama, of the Ugandan Football Federation, argued any avenue that could lead to more resources for nations like his should be explored.
From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026
Rajpath, or King’s Way, a ceremonial avenue in the heart of the capital, is now Kartavya Path, or Duty’s Way.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
Gen Z-ers are also less likely than older Americans to see stable, long-term employment as an avenue for success.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 9, 2026
They crossed the Retrieval perimeter to the avenue.
From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer
Yet many AI hyperscalers are “really high-quality companies” with other avenues besides AI that “will make their debt money good,” he said.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 27, 2026
We do so through many avenues: voting, protest, political party activism, lobbying, filing lawsuits, and writing op-eds, to name a few.
From Slate ● Jul. 20, 2026
Any member of the public can make a public records request; the move signals that the government has few remaining avenues to force the state to turn over voter data.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 17, 2026
The conversion of the building, located on East 42nd Street between Second and Third avenues, is part of a wider effort to relieve the city’s housing crunch by repurposing empty office space.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 11, 2026
The mere thought that these avenues of action were open to him made him feel free, that his life was his, that he held his future in his hands.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
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.
