avenue
Americannoun
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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.
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.
The suspect, 30-year-old Hadi Alodid, lives in Duncairn Avenue in north Belfast.
From BBC • Jun. 10, 2026
“Vehicular and pedestrian traffic will be closed from West 30th Street to West 35th Street between 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue,” the New York Police Department posted on social media.
From MarketWatch • Jun. 8, 2026
The New York Police Department and the Secret Service will set up a wide security perimeter around Madison Square Garden extending from 30th Street to 35th Street and 6th Avenue and 8th Avenue.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 8, 2026
Bomb squad investigators with the Los Angeles Police Department responded to the 6100 block of Rhodes Avenue shortly before 9:30 a.m. following reports of a suspicious device, according to a department spokesperson.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 4, 2026
People walk right across the middle of Fifth Avenue in traffic, and the cars honk and the people shout and the rain slurs up all the noise.
From Absolutely Almost by Lisa Graff
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.
