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

The pair switched places en route and the car crashed off the carriageway within eight seconds of Batool taking the wheel.

From BBC ● Nov. 3, 2026

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

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Oct. 28, 2026

I told her, thinking of the piece of birch already en route to Papa.

From "Between Shades of Gray" by Ruta Sepetys

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