lane
noun
a narrow way or passage between hedges, fences, walls, or houses.
lane
1 American
[leyn]
/ leɪn /
noun
-
lanes
plural
-
a narrow way or passage between hedges, fences, walls, or houses.
- Synonyms:
- alley
-
any narrow or well-defined passage, track, channel, or course.
-
a longitudinally marked part of a highway wide enough to accommodate one vehicle, often set off from adjacent lanes by painted lines (often used in combination).
a new six-lane turnpike.
-
a fixed route followed by ocean steamers or airplanes.
-
(in a running or swimming race) the marked-off space or path within which a competitor must remain during the course of a race.
-
a long, narrow wooden track that a ball rolls down in a game of bowling.
-
an area of interest or expertise that is associated with a person or group whose contributions or authority in that area are respected.
Teen magazines should stay in their lane and stick to publishing articles about relationships, style, and beauty.
-
Politics. an affiliation or faction that presents one path to nomination or election victory for candidates who espouse that ideology or embody its ideals.
The libertarian candidates siphoned voters away from the conservative establishment lane in the primary.
-
(in a MOBA video game) one of the major arteries on the map between the two strongholds in which the fighting between characters occurs.
Our strategy is to push with a support character in the top lane.
lane
2
American
[leyn]
/ leɪn /
adjective
idioms
Lane
3
American
[leyn]
/ leɪn /
noun
lane
1
British
/ leɪn /
noun
-
-
a narrow road or way between buildings, hedges, fences, etc
-
( capital as part of a street name )
Drury Lane
-
-
-
any of the parallel strips into which the carriageway of a major road or motorway is divided
-
any narrow well-defined route or course for ships or aircraft
-
-
one of the parallel strips into which a running track or swimming bath is divided for races
-
the long strip of wooden flooring down which balls are bowled in a bowling alley
lane
2
British
/ leɪn /
adjective
-
lone or alone
-
on one's own
lane
More Idioms
Synonym Usage
See path.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lane
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch laan “avenue,” Old Norse lǫn “oblong hayrick, row of houses”
Explanation
A lane is a relatively narrow street or road. Most country lanes never get backed up with rush hour traffic. There's the kind of lane that meanders through wooded, hilly countryside, and then there's the lane that's one particular row of traffic on the a busier road. This second kind of lane is sometimes just one of many options, like on an eight-lane highway. You might also choose a lane in a swimming pool, if you swim competitively or among many lap swimmers.
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:
I’ve seen many travelers turned away, either because it wasn’t on their boarding pass or they hadn’t signed up and thought it was the regular TSA PreCheck lane.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
Is Gap trying to open a lane for higher-end business and branding?
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
The original project would have eliminated a traffic lane on a one-mile stretch of Forest Lane Drive for an updated bike lane and added a turning lane.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
Pedestrians will be partially diverted onto the eastbound road, which will be reduced to one lane at that section.
From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026
When a fire spread, it could take down a whole lane.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
Left Lane is also an investor in the Pro Padel League, the Snow League—a professional winter-sports league founded by Shaun White—and League One Volleyball.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 3, 2026
LSU football coach Lane Kiffin has faced backlash for his plan to add former NFL rookies to the team’s roster.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 2, 2026
A woman who was on board the train described seeing the van travelling along Martin Lane before it collided with the Northern train.
From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026
The original project would have eliminated a traffic lane on a one-mile stretch of Forest Lane Drive for an updated bike lane and added a turning lane.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 31, 2026
Molly recognized them from the Minetta Lane party at once, the two girls who had dragged Anat and her into karaoke.
From "Night Owls" by A.R. Vishny
But as of 6 p.m., two lanes of the northbound Glendale Freeway were still closed, as were the York Boulevard and Colorado Boulevard northbound on-ramps.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 3, 2026
“International shipping lanes are open, and momentum is building,” Cooper said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 1, 2026
Washington said its forces attacked Iranian rocket launchers on the island of Larak on Sunday to prevent Tehran from planting mines in the strait's key shipping lanes.
From Barron's ● Sep. 1, 2026
Such changes also reclaim space for protected bike lanes, public transit lines or safer walkways — after long prioritizing convenience for cars, advocates say.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
I had been glancing out the back window every now and then, watching people switch lanes and flash their headlights at us.
From "The Book of Unknown Americans" by Cristina Henríquez
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.
