runway
Americannoun
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runways
plural
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a paved or cleared strip on which planes land and take off.
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a similar strip on which cars, trucks, or the like may park, load, or enter the stream of traffic.
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the beaten track or habitual path of deer or other wild animals.
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a fairly large enclosure in which domestic animals may range about.
a runway for dogs.
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the bed of a stream.
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Bowling. approach.
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a narrow platform or ramp extending from a stage into the orchestra pit or into an aisle, as in a theater.
noun
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a hard level roadway or other surface from which aircraft take off and on which they land
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an enclosure for domestic animals; run
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forestry a chute for sliding logs down
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a narrow ramp extending from the stage into the audience in a theatre, nightclub, etc, esp as used by models in a fashion show
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of runway
Explanation
A runway could be for an airplane or a fashion model. It’s the strip of land a plane uses to take off and land on, or a narrow platform that a model uses to show off the latest fashions. A plane needs a runway of a certain length in order to gather enough speed to take off, and it likewise needs a long enough runway when it lands to slow down and come to a safe stop. Even the very shortest runways are more than 800 feet long — and the world's longest runway, at California's Edwards Air Force Base, is nearly 40,000 feet long. The original meaning of runway was "usual track of an animal."
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:
The footage, obtained by Airline Videos, a website that posts plane spotting footage, shows a DHL jetliner touching down on the runway and seconds later, white smoke emitting from the aircraft’s rear tires.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
The US's position as the world's largest economy and the dollar being the world's reserve currency gives the US a "much longer runway to fiscally misbehave" than other countries, El-Erian says.
From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026
“I think there is more runway for the silhouette in the next year or two,” Goldstein said in emailed comments.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 15, 2026
A Virgin Australia 737 had been cleared for take-off by air traffic control on Sunday morning when the crew saw a Qantas plane crossing the runway ahead of them, the country's transport safety investigator said.
From Barron's ● Aug. 14, 2026
And she walks down the runway of benches like it’s no big deal.
From "A Good Kind of Trouble" by Lisa Moore Ramée
Washington has committed more than $300 million to upgrading these bases with new hangars, better runways and more storage.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 19, 2026
Heathrow continues to operate its two runways at near-full capacity and is seeking government permission to build a third.
From BBC ● Aug. 11, 2026
Now it is migrating from the runways and red carpets to everyday shoppers—and it’s not exactly going smoothly.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026
Sally Pavey, from Cagne, had previously said the plans were "not making best use of existing runways".
From BBC ● Jun. 23, 2026
He had tunnels and runways all over Mr. Zuckerman’s farm and could get from one place to another without being seen.
From "Charlotte's Web" by E.B. White
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.
