route

American  

[root, rout] / rut, raʊt /

noun

1. a course, way, or road for passage or travel.

   What's the shortest route to Boston?

2. a customary or regular line of passage or travel.

   There's a ship from our company on the North Atlantic route.

3. a specific itinerary, round, or number of stops regularly visited by a person in the performance of their work or duty.

   a newspaper route;

   a mail carrier's route.

   Synonyms:

   circuit, beat

---

verb (used with object)

routed, routing

1. to set the path of.

   to route a tour.

2. to send or forward by a particular course or road.

   It's the post office's job to route mail to its proper destination.

idioms

1. go the route,

   1. to see something through to completion.

      It was a tough assignment, but he went the route.

   2. Baseball. to pitch the complete game.

      The heat and humidity were intolerable, but the pitcher managed to go the route.

route British  

/ ruːt /

noun

1. the choice of roads taken to get to a place

2. a regular journey travelled

3. (capital) a main road between cities

   Route 66

4. mountaineering the direction or course taken by a climb

5. med the means by which a drug or agent is administered or enters the body, such as by mouth or by injection

   oral route

---

verb

1. to plan the route of; send by a particular route

Usage

When forming the present participle or verbal noun from the verb to route it is preferable to retain the e in order to distinguish the word from routing , the present participle or verbal noun from rout ¹ , to defeat or rout ² , to dig, rummage: the routeing of buses from the city centre to the suburbs . The spelling routing in this sense is, however, sometimes encountered, esp in American English

Other Word Forms

• misroute
  verb (used with object)
• preroute
  verb (used with object)
• reroute
  verb

Etymology

Origin of route

First recorded in 1175–1225; Middle English: “way, course,” from Old French, from Latin rupta (via) “broken (road),” feminine past participle of rumpere “to break”; cf. rout ¹

Explanation

A route is a way for travel or movement, the path from point A to point B. A route can also be the method used for achieving a particular result, like going to school and working hard is your route to success. Route comes from an Old French word, rute, “road,” “way,” or “path” and the Latin rupta, “broken way” or “beaten way.” A route can be a highway, like Route 66, or all the places you pass through on the way somewhere, like using a map to find the shortest route. As a verb, route means "to send people or things on a particular course," like detour signs that route you through unfamiliar streets or a package that is routed through Cleveland on its way to you.

Example Sentences

However, trade in goods may slow in this and coming quarters as the conflict in the Middle East has closed a key transit route, while higher energy prices will likely weaken demand for other products.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 22, 2026

Two Indian climbers have died on Mount Everest during a record-breaking period of ascents via Nepal's southern route, as experts warn of overcrowding on the world's highest peak.

From Barron's • May 22, 2026

Before you load the cooler, take a few minutes to prep your car, map your route, and plan your fuel or charging stops.

From MarketWatch • May 22, 2026

An additional 113 climbers also summited via the northern route in Tibet on 22 May 2019, but China has closed this route to foreign climbers this season.

From BBC • May 22, 2026

While Palsson was en route to Japan, a group of stalwart Icelanders met in Reykjavik to discuss whether there was any way asylum could be offered to Fischer.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

Related Words

• avenue
• course
• direction
• itinerary
• journey
• line
• passage
• road
• track
• trail
• way