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pathway

[path-wey, pahth-]
See more synonyms for pathway on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a path, course, route, or way.
  2. Biochemistry. a sequence of reactions, usually controlled and catalyzed by enzymes, by which one organic substance is converted to another.
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Origin of pathway

First recorded in 1530–40; path + way1
Related formspath·wayed, adjective
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for pathway

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • They quite blocked the pathway, oblivious to everything but their outraged feelings.

    Thoroughbreds

    W. A. Fraser

  • The world seemed to be making a pathway, of rather a highway, to Pee-wee's door.

    Pee-wee Harris

    Percy Keese Fitzhugh

  • Here is a wooden gate which opens on a pathway leading to the house.'

    Micah Clarke

    Arthur Conan Doyle

  • The wayfarer, Perceiving the pathway to truth, Was struck with astonishment.

    War is Kind

    Stephen Crane

  • Then Gor followed the Pathway to the Light, though he sealed it as you know.

    Two Thousand Miles Below

    Charles Willard Diffin

British Dictionary definitions for pathway

pathway

noun
  1. another word for path (def. 1), path (def. 2)
  2. a route to or way of access to; way of reaching or achieving something
  3. courses taken by a student to gain entry to a higher course or towards a final qualification
  4. biochem a chain of reactions associated with a particular metabolic process
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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 pathway

n.

1530s, from path + way (n.). An etymological tautology.

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
pathway in Medicine

pathway

(păth′wā′)
n.
  1. A course usually followed by a body part or process.
  2. A chain of nerve fibers along which impulses normally travel.
  3. A sequence of enzymatic or other reactions by which one biological material is converted to another.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
pathway in Science

pathway

[păth′wā′]
  1. A chain of nerve fibers along which impulses normally travel.
  2. A sequence of enzymatic or other reactions by which one biological material is converted to another.
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The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.