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

Vlasenko gathered his things, but the machine was destroyed en route.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 6, 2026

More U.S. warships are en route, carrying thousands of Marines.

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026

The Olympic torch relay will begin in spring 2028, uniting all 50 states en route to the opening ceremony.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 28, 2026

American media meanwhile reports that the defeated candidate is en route to the US.

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

In 1928, Ky Ebright’s California Bears won their first Poughkeepsie title en route to winning the Olympics that year and again in 1932.

From "The Boys in the Boat: Nine Americans and Their Epic Quest for Gold at the 1936 Berlin Olympics" by Daniel James Brown

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