a narrow way or passage between hedges, fences, walls, or houses.
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.
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
lone or alone
on one's own
See path.
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch laan “avenue,” Old Norse lǫn “oblong hayrick, row of houses”
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.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The VIP lane system was introduced in April 2020 in England.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
More than a third of the 101 vessels that transited the strait used a lane that hugs the Iranian coast, according to commercial-ship tracker Kpler.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 10, 2026
At 7 p.m. the evacuation warning was lifted and an additional highway lane reopened as crews continued to make progress combating the fire.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
It is the lane for the investor who favors clean energy, fair labor practices and strong corporate governance while avoiding companies with poor track records on the environment and how they treat people.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 6, 2026
As I followed my mother down the lane, I felt like a criminal.
From Full of Beans by Jennifer L. Holm
The charity has been in Middlesbrough since 2023 and moved to its new base on Skippers Lane about four months ago.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
The Department for Transport said it was "giving councils stronger powers to tackle dangerous and inconsiderate pavement parking" - but on roads like Fordhouse Lane in Birmingham parking on the pavement is permitted.
From BBC ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ms. Lane has taken a rigorous approach to answering it, and those who continue in this line of inquiry would do well to follow her example.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
Ms. Lane takes issue with how these horrific experiences have been presented as arguments against all homeschooling.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
By the first of June, the Fox sisters were in residence at a suite of rooms in Barnum’s Hotel located at the corner of Broadway and Maiden Lane.
From "American Spirits" by Barb Rosenstock
Just before 1 a.m., a driver going southbound in the northbound lanes was involved in a traffic collision just south of Rosecrans Avenue, according to California Highway Patrol incident logs.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
The city's Avenues programme is described by the local authority as the biggest transformation of city centre thoroughfares since Buchanan Street was pedestrianised back in the 1970s, adding greenery and cycle lanes throughout the city.
From BBC ● Jul. 16, 2026
At the narrowest point, the Strait of Hormuz and its shipping lanes lie entirely within Iran and Oman's territorial waters.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
Instead, Oman has been operating a channel through the strategic waterway that runs through its territorial waters and skirts the lanes managed by Tehran.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 13, 2026
Sarai imagined it empty, all those mazy lanes and mussed-up beds deserted, and she felt, for a staggering moment, as though she were drowning in that emptiness.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
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.
