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

Steve, from Chester, told BBC Radio Merseyside he saw the paramedic being struck, and recounted how he, his wife and friend ran down a side street to find safety.

From BBC • May 27, 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

But in the Streatham area, Mr Kaba unexpectedly turned into a side street where a marked police vehicle was waiting, with Sgt Blake and other armed officers inside.

From BBC • Nov. 4, 2024

They passed only one guard, leaning on the wall in a side street and smoking.

From "Inkheart" by Cornelia Funke