street

American  

[street] / strit /

noun

• streets
  plural

1. a public thoroughfare, usually paved, in a village, town, or city, including the sidewalk or sidewalks.

   Synonyms:

   concourse, roadway

2. such a thoroughfare together with adjacent buildings, lots, etc..

   Houses, lawns, and trees composed a very pleasant street.

3. the roadway of such a thoroughfare, as distinguished from the sidewalk.

   to cross a street.

4. a main way or thoroughfare, as distinguished from a lane, alley, or the like.

5. the inhabitants or frequenters of a street.

   The whole street gossiped about the new neighbors.

6. Informal. the Street,

   1. the section of a city associated with a given profession or trade, especially when concerned with business or finance, as Wall Street.

   2. the principal theater and entertainment district of any of a number of U.S. cities.

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adjective

1. of, on, or adjoining a street.

   a street door just off the sidewalk.

2. taking place or appearing on the street.

   street fight; street musicians.

3. coarse; crude; vulgar.

   street language.

4. suitable for everyday wear.

   street clothes; street dress.

5. retail.

   the street price of a new computer; the street value of a drug.

idioms

1. on / in the street,

   1. without a home.

      You'll be out on the street if the rent isn't paid.

   2. without a job or occupation; idle.

   3. out of prison or police custody; at liberty.

2. up one's street, alley.

street British  

/ striːt /

noun

1. 1. (capital when part of a name) a public road that is usually lined with buildings, esp in a town

      Oxford Street

   2. ( as modifier )

      a street directory

2. the buildings lining a street

3. the part of the road between the pavements, used by vehicles

4. the people living, working, etc, in a particular street

5. (modifier) of or relating to the urban counterculture

   street style

   street drug

6. an ordinary or average citizen

7. 1. earning a living as a prostitute

   2. homeless

8. informal superior to, more advanced than, etc

9. informal markedly different

10. informal (just) what one knows or likes best

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verb

1. to outdistance

street More Idioms  

1. see back street; easy street; man in the street; on the street; side street; work both sides of the street.

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Synonym Usage

Street, alley, avenue, boulevard all refer to public ways or roads in municipal areas. A street is a road in a village, town, or city, especially a road lined with buildings. An alley is a narrow street or footway, especially at the rear of or between rows of buildings or lots. An avenue is properly a prominent street, often one bordered by fine residences and impressive buildings, or with a row of trees on each side. A boulevard is a beautiful, broad street, lined with rows of stately trees, especially used as a promenade. In some cities street and avenue are used interchangeably, the only difference being that those running one direction (say, north and south) are given one designation and those crossing them are given the other.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• interstreet
  adjective
• streetless
  adjective
• streetlike
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• streets
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of street

First recorded before 900; Middle English; Old English strēt, strǣt; cognate with Dutch straat, German Strasse; all ultimately from Latin (via) strāta “paved (road)”; see stratum

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Explanation

A street is a paved road with houses or buildings along the side. Cars, buses, bikes, and motorcycles travel in the street, while pedestrians use the sidewalk. The street is what you drive a car on, but the word can also refer more generally to the neighborhood around the street, as in street theater or street fashion. And it can also mean a slightly dangerous, crime-filled environment: "It's rough out there on the street." In Old English, the word was stret, from the Late Latin phrase via strata or "paved road."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

street streets

Its neglected husk is a missed opportunity: Why echo Gehry from across the street when you could engage the work already there?

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

“If I walk down the street, sometimes people will stop me and tell me how much they like something I wrote,” he says.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

She described her son as "modest and great fun" and said he would "quietly" fundraise through events like the Great North Run and Royal British Legion street collections.

From BBC ● Oct. 26, 2026

"Over the last couple of decades it's been in decline, I'd say managed decline," Khan told BBC Radio 4 about the street lined with luxury retailers, clothing chains, and department stores.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

She is told to study the barracks across the street from her house for twenty-four hours and document how many Japanese soldiers come and go, when, and in what direction.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

But on the streets, memories are long, he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 27, 2026

Some may take to the streets to express those sympathies.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 26, 2026

On the city's streets, people told AFP that they felt hope, relief and exhilaration a day after the upset vote.

From Barron's ● Oct. 26, 2026

Demonstrators on Europe’s streets, its editorial proposes, are “consumed by rage”:

From Salon ● Oct. 26, 2026

Holland in 1914, like the rest of Europe, was mobilizing for war, and the streets of Haarlem were suddenly filled with young men in uniform.

From "The Hiding Place" by Corrie ten Boom

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Related Words

• avenue
• boulevard
• court
• highway
• lane
• pavement
• place
• road
• roadway
• route
• thoroughfare
• track
• trail

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