runway

[ruhn-wey]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR runway ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a way along which something runs.

a paved or cleared strip on which planes land and take off.

a similar strip on which cars, trucks, or the like may park, load, or enter the stream of traffic.

the beaten track or habitual path of deer or other wild animals.

a fairly large enclosure in which domestic animals may range about: a runway for dogs.

the bed of a stream.

Bowling. approach(def 17b).

a narrow platform or ramp extending from a stage into the orchestra pit or into an aisle, as in a theater.

Origin of runway

An Americanism dating back to 1825–35; run + way¹

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

Related Words for runway

ramp, platform, path, road, airstrip, tarmac, strip, groove, channel, passageway

Examples from the Web for runway

Contemporary Examples of runway

As they passed the runway, bullets shot up from the tall grass, puncturing a fuel tank.
‘Argo’ in the Congo: The Ghosts of the Stanleyville Hostage Crisis
Nina Strochlic
November 23, 2014
I walked across the runway to the large hangar we were housed in.
I Shot Bin Laden
Elliot Ackerman
November 16, 2014
Twice in the past two weeks, this has entailed meeting a plane on the runway to retriever sick passengers who may be infected.
Ebola Panic Is Worse Than the Disease
Abby Haglage
October 9, 2014
That was when I started getting couture, kind of from the other side of the runway.
Tatiana Sorokko Is the Queen of Vintage Couture
Anthony Haden-Guest
October 8, 2014
Trying to do it in a reusable rocket, landing on a runway, that system has a very bad track record.
Sky Wars: Richard Branson’s Rival in the Great Space Race
Tom Sykes
October 7, 2014

Historical Examples of runway

A dark form hurtled down the runway and lifted like a flash.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery
"I'm afraid I forgot all about your cameras when I came in over the runway," Stan replied.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery
As he laid over he saw the withering fire on the runway lift.
A Yankee Flier Over Berlin
Al Avery
The runway was raised to successive horizontals as the work progressed.
Concrete Construction
Halbert P. Gillette
"Here's the runway and this here hazel bush is my station," he said.
The Flaming Jewel
Robert W. Chambers

British Dictionary definitions for runway

runway

noun

a hard level roadway or other surface from which aircraft take off and on which they land

an enclosure for domestic animals; run

forestry, US and Canadian a chute for sliding logs down

a narrow ramp extending from the stage into the audience in a theatre, nightclub, etc, esp as used by models in a fashion show

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 runway

"customary track of an animal," especially a deer, 1833, American English, from run (v.) + way. Meaning "artificial sloping track" is attested from 1883; airfield sense is from 1923.