street name

American  

[street neym] / ˈstrit ˌneɪm /

noun

1. a familiar or slang name of a narcotic drug.

   A street name for phencyclidine is “angel dust.”

2. Stock Exchange. an arrangement in which a broker holds securities in their own name instead of in the name of the customer, especially for convenience in executing transfers and in pledging for borrowing in margin accounts.

   Stocks held in street name are insured up to $500,000 by the federal government against fraud or financial failure of the brokerage company.

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Etymology

Origin of street name

First recorded in 1830–40 for the stock exchange sense, and in 1965–70 for the narcotic drug sense

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

street name

Merchants — new and old — bear the street name on stores.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 21, 2026

The dispatcher coaxed her to provide the street name where she last saw them.

From Washington Times ● Oct. 13, 2023

Regardless, you’ll want to own “a good map of the city,” Kathleen Fueger said, since “it’s terribly confusing that the same street name appears in many neighborhoods but isn’t continuous.”

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2023

He said residents attempted to get the street name legally changed but could not get permission from all owners.

From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2023

On Moonraker—a street name I recognize from my route to the post office.

From "The Wrong Way Home" by Kate O’Shaughnessy