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:
Cook; “SS26,” a jittery electro-punk jam about “walking on a runway that goes straight to hell.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
Born in California in 1999, Presley Gerber modeled like his mother and sister, making his runway debut for Italian label Moschino aged 16.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
Two Wall Street analysts raise their price targets on Victoria’s Secret, citing a return to the brand’s roots and more opportunities to shop the runway.
From Barron's ● Oct. 19, 2026
This summer, the brand hosted its first-ever major women’s ready-to-wear runway show in Los Angeles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
The cargo plane that Alex had seen when he arrived rumbled down the runway and lurched into the air.
From "Stormbreaker" by Anthony Horowitz
Whether the airport can in fact legally be constructed is being contested in the courts even as the runways get tarmacked.
From Slate ● Sep. 8, 2026
Miami’s Runway 30 has a safety buffer but not an Engineering Materials Arresting System, a crushable bed designed to stop aircraft that overrun runways.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 7, 2026
The airport was put into a ground stop at approximately 2 p.m., with all runways and taxiways currently closed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 6, 2026
The airport closed all runways and issued a full ground stop after the incident.
From BBC ● Sep. 6, 2026
But Rafik thought she had passed the camp and was heading down through low bushes and scraggly trees toward the runways at the abandoned airport.
From "Habibi" by Naomi Shihab Nye
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
