path

[path, pahth]

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR path ON THESAURUS.COM

noun, plural paths [pathz, pahthz, paths, pahths] /pæðz, pɑðz, pæθs, pɑθs/.

a way beaten, formed, or trodden by the feet of persons or animals.

a narrow walk or way: a path through a garden; a bicycle path.

a route, course, or track along which something moves: the path of a hurricane.

a course of action, conduct, or procedure: the path of righteousness.

Mathematics. a continuous curve that connects two or more points.

Computers. the sequence of steps that a computer follows in carrying out a routine, as in storing and retrieving a file at a specific location.

Nearby words

Idioms

cross one's path, to encounter or meet unexpectedly: Tragedy crossed our path again.

Origin of path

before 900; Middle English; Old English pæth; cognate with German Pfad

SYNONYMS FOR path

1. footpath, pathway. Path, lane, trail are passages or routes not as wide as a way or road. A path is a way for passing on foot; a track, beaten by feet, not specially constructed, is often along the side of a road: a path through a field. A lane is a narrow road or track, generally between fields, often enclosed with fences or trees; sometimes it is an alley or narrow road between buildings in towns: a lane leading to a farmhouse; Drury Lane. A trail is a rough way made or worn through woods, or across mountains, prairies, or other untraveled regions: an Indian trail.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR path ON THESAURUS.COM

Related formsmul·ti·path, nounout·path, noun

path-

variant of patho- before a vowel: pathosis.

-path

a combining form occurring in personal nouns corresponding to abstract nouns ending in -pathy, with the general sense “one practicing such a treatment” (osteopath) or “one suffering from such an ailment” (psychopath).

path.

pathological.

pathology.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for path

We see detoxing as a path to transcendence, a symbol of modern urban virtue and self-transformation through abstinence.
How Taryn Toomey’s ‘The Class’ Became New York’s Latest Fitness Craze|Lizzie Crocker|January 9, 2015|DAILY BEAST
The anti-crime cops began searching the likely path of flight.
Shot Down During the NYPD Slowdown|Michael Daly|January 7, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Rubio has his own troubles with immigration, but people close to him said he still may have a path even with a Bush candidacy.
How A Jeb Bush Candidacy Would Hurt Chris Christie And Shake Up The 2016 GOP Field|David Freedlander|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The other person for whom a path to the nomination, let alone a candidacy, seems much less likely is Mitt Romney.
How A Jeb Bush Candidacy Would Hurt Chris Christie And Shake Up The 2016 GOP Field|David Freedlander|December 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The path may be there, but current travelers to Sudan face a bureaucratic nightmare of permits and road blocks.
Egypt Ain’t The Only Pyramid Show In Town|Nina Strochlic|December 11, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Courtlandt continued toward the exit, his head forward, his gaze bent on the path.
The Place of Honeymoons|Harold MacGrath
But when they rose Michael signed to his cousin to go on, and planted himself firmly in the path to the door.
Michael|E. F. Benson
If he had the misfortune to cross their path, it brought him a world of woe, and finally his downfall.
The Philippine Islands|John Foreman
But not upon the path, nor upon the solid surface of these Bermuda rocks!
The White Invaders|Raymond King Cummings
I am glad at least that I have removed that dreadful woman out of your path, said Lady Frances.
A Very Naughty Girl|L. T. Meade

British Dictionary definitions for path

path

noun plural paths (pɑːðz)

a road or way, esp a narrow trodden track

a surfaced walk, as through a garden

the course or direction in which something movesthe path of a whirlwind

a course of conductthe path of virtue

computing the directions for reaching a particular file or directory, as traced hierarchically through each of the parent directories usually from the root; the file or directoryand all parent directories are separated from one another in the path by slashes

Derived Formspathless, adjective

Word Origin for path

Old English pæth; related to Old High German, German Pfad

path.

abbreviation for

pathological

pathology

-path

n combining form

denoting a person suffering from a specified disease or disorderneuropath

denoting a practitioner of a particular method of treatmentosteopath

Word Origin for -path

back formation from -pathy

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for path

path

Old English paþ, pæþ "path, track," from West Germanic *patha- (cf. Old Frisian path, Middle Dutch pat, Dutch pad, Old High German pfad, German Pfad "path"), of unknown origin. The original initial -p- in a Germanic word is an etymological puzzle. Watkins says the word is "probably borrowed (? via Scythian) from Iranian *path-," from PIE root *pent- "to tread, go, pass" (cf. Avestan patha "way;" see find (v.)), but this is too much of a stretch for OED and others. In Scotland and Northern England, commonly a steep ascent of a hill or in a road.

-path

word-forming element used in modern formations to mean "one suffering from" (a disease or condition), from Greek -pathes, from pathos "suffering" (see pathos). Also "one versed in" (a certain type of treatment), in which cases it is a back-formation from -pathy in the related sense.

Medicine definitions for path

-path

suff.

A practitioner of a specified kind of medical treatment:naturopath.

One affected by a specified kind of disorder:sociopath.

Idioms and Phrases with path

path

see beat a path to someone's door; cross someone's path; lead down the garden path; least resistance, path of; on the warpath.

path

noun, plural paths [pathz, pahthz, paths, pahths] /pæðz, pɑðz, pæθs, pɑθs/.

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RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of path

path-

-path

path.

Examples from the Web for path

path

noun plural paths (pɑːðz)

Word Origin for path

path.

abbreviation for

-path

n combining form

Word Origin for -path

path

-path

-path

suff.

path