side street

American  

noun

1. a street leading away from a main street; an unimportant street or one carrying but little traffic.

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side street British  

noun

1. a minor or unimportant street, esp one leading off a main thoroughfare

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side street Idioms  

1. A minor thoroughfare that carries little traffic, as in Our favorite hotel is on a quiet little side street. The side in this idiom means “off to one side, away from the main street.” [c. 1600] Also see back street.

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Etymology

Origin of side street

First recorded in 1610–20

Example Sentences

“We are going to be looking around, and we are staying with the group, not going on a side street, and not gather unnecessarily.”

From MarketWatch • Mar. 11, 2026

The moment Longoria drives away, agents on both sides of the truck remain in sight of the video, and they then pile into their vehicles and pursue Longoria’s truck down a side street.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 25, 2025

Up another side street, near a vacant commercial business, Shiela McPheely is waiting to collect her sisters from their holiday in Albufeira in Portugal.

From BBC • Jul. 19, 2025

His book is, on one level, a relic of a lost moment — a time before the Iranian revolution, when Afghanistan was a place a young traveler could "wander down a dreamy side street."

From Salon • Feb. 28, 2025

Koffi ducked into the side street, disappearing into its shadows.

From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray