way
Language: English
Part of speech: noun
Pronunciation: enpr: wā
ipa: /weɪ/
ipa: [weː]
ipa: [weɪ]
ipa: [wɛj]
ipa: [weː]
ipa: [wɛj]
ipa: [wæɪ]
rhymes: -eɪ
homophone: Wei
homophone: weigh
homophone: wey
homophone: whey (wine–whine merger)
Forms: form: ways
form: waye
form: waie
Etymology: From Middle English way, wey, from Old English weġ, from Proto-West Germanic *weg, from Proto-Germanic *wegaz, from Proto-Indo-European *weǵʰ-. Doublet of voe and possibly via.
Cognates
Cognate with North Frisian wai, wäi (“way”), Saterland Frisian Wai (“way”), West Frisian wei (“road; way”), Central Franconian Wääch (“way”), Cimbrian bege, bèg (“way”), Dutch weg (“way”), German, Low German Weg (“way”), Limburgish waeg (“way”), Luxembourgish Wee (“way”), Mòcheno be (“way”), Yiddish וועג (veg, “way”), Danish vej (“way”), Faroese, Icelandic vegur (“way”), Norwegian Bokmål veg, vei (“way”), Norwegian Nynorsk veg (“way”), Swedish väg (“way”), Gothic 𐍅𐌹𐌲𐍃 (wigs, “path; road”).
Senses: examples: text: Do you know the way to the airport?  Come this way and I'll show you a shortcut.  It's a long way from here.
text: Twen miles is a long way to walk.
text: The way seems difficult, and steep to scale.
ref: 1667, John Milton, “Book II”, in Paradise Lost. […], London: […] [Samuel Simmons], and are to be sold by Peter Parker […]; [a]nd by Robert Boulter […]; [a]nd Matthias Walker, […], →OCLC; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, →OCLC:
text: the season and ways very improper for his Majesty's forces to march so great a distance
ref: 1688 November 15 (Gregorian calendar), John Evelyn, “[Diary entry for 5 November 1688]”, in William Bray, editor, Memoirs, Illustrative of the Life and Writings of John Evelyn, […], 2nd edition, volume I, London: Henry Colburn, […]; and sold by John and Arthur Arch, […], published 1819, →OCLC:
text: Judge Short had gone to town, and Farrar was off for a three days' cruise up the lake. I was bitterly regretting I had not gone with him when the distant notes of a coach horn reached my ear, and I descried a four-in-hand winding its way up the inn road from the direction of Mohair.
ref: 1897 December (indicated as 1898), Winston Churchill, chapter IV, in The Celebrity: An Episode, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company; London: Macmillan & Co., Ltd., →OCLC:
text: I was on my way to the door, but all at once, through the fog in my head, I began to sight one reef that I hadn't paid any attention to afore.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter IV, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
text: "It's a long way to Tipperary, / it's a long way to go." [It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, a marching and music hall song by Jack Judge and Henry "Harry" James Williams, popularized especially by British troops in World War One]
text: "Do you know the way to San Jose?" [song title and lyrics, Bacharach and David]
text: Risk is everywhere.[…]For each one there is a frighteningly precise measurement of just how likely it is to jump from the shadows and get you. “The Norm Chronicles”[…]aims to help data-phobes find their way through this blizzard of risks.
ref: 2013 June 22, “Snakes and ladders”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8841, page 76:
topics: heading
glosses: To do with a place or places.
A road, a direction, a (physical or conceptual) path from one place to another.
examples: text: We got into the cinema through the back way.
text: Just under the ceiling there were three lunette windows, heavily barred and blacked out in the normal way by centuries of grime. Their bases were on a level with the pavement outside, a narrow way which was several feet lower than the road behind the house.
ref: 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 14, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
topics: heading
glosses: To do with a place or places.
A means to enter or leave a place.
examples: text: If you're ever 'round this way, come over and visit me.
topics: heading
glosses: To do with a place or places.
A roughly-defined geographical area.
examples: text: You're going about it the wrong way.  He's known for his quirky ways.  I don't like the way she looks at me.
text: “[…] That woman is stark mad, Lord Stranleigh.[…]If she had her way, she’d ruin the company inside a year with her hare-brained schemes ; love of the people, and that sort of guff.”
ref: 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
text: She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid,[…]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
ref: 1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
text: […]his lordship was out of humour. That was the way Chollacombe described as knaggy an old gager as ever Charles had had the ill-fortune to serve. Stiff-rumped, that's what he was, always rubbing the rust, or riding grub, like he had been for months past.
ref: 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
text: An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.
ref: 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
glosses: A method or manner of doing something; a mannerism.
examples: ref: 2023 June 10, Patricia Murphy, “OPINION: ‘Atlanta way’ long gone as city leaders face death threats over training center”, in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
glosses: A method or manner of doing something; a mannerism.
A set of values and customs associated with and seen as central to the identity of a group of people.
raw_tags: with 'the'
with modifier
examples: text: When I returned home, I found my house and belongings in a most terrible way.
glosses: A state or condition
examples: text: There's no way I'm going to clean up after you.
topics: heading
glosses: Personal interaction.
Possibility (usually in the phrases 'any way' and 'no way').
examples: text: My little sister always whines until she gets her way.
topics: heading
glosses: Personal interaction.
Determined course; resolved mode of action or conduct.
examples: To walk the Way of the Runes, you must experience the runes as they manifest both in the part of Midgard that lies outside yourself and the worlds within. (Diana Paxson)
topics: lifestyle
paganism
religion
glosses: A tradition within the modern pagan faith of Heathenry, dedication to a specific deity or craft, Way of wyrd, Way of runes, Way of Thor etc.
examples: text: Immediately afterwards, a quick and eager short dark man came into the room with so much way upon him that he was within a foot of Clennam before he could stop.
ref: 1855 December – 1857 June, Charles Dickens, Little Dorrit, London: Bradbury and Evans, […], published 1857, →OCLC:
text: Ten minutes into the run Tang slowed, Welch calling out her speed as she lost way.
ref: 1977, Richard O'Kane, Clear the Bridge: The War Patrols of the U.S.S. Tang, Ballantine Books, published 2003, page 343:
topics: nautical
transport
glosses: Speed, progress, momentum.
examples: text: In a significant way, crocodiles and alligators are similar.
text: That concertina was a wonder in its way. The handles that was on it first was wore out long ago, and he'd made new ones of braided rope yarn. And the bellows was patched in more places than a cranberry picker's overalls.
ref: 1913, Joseph C[rosby] Lincoln, chapter VIII, in Mr. Pratt’s Patients, New York, N.Y.; London: D[aniel] Appleton and Company, →OCLC:
glosses: A degree, an amount, a sense.
examples: text: Way to ruin the moment, guys.
text: Jimmy leaned forward holding his ear, the personification of naïveté, looking as young as a baby with his oh-so-innocent face. “Oh, way to get us busted, Jimmy,” Curt hissed under his breath.
ref: 2001, Joshua Nedelman, The Garden of Eastern, page 36:
text: Oh, way to start a rumor, Hope. Angel glared the silent statement at her sister.
ref: 2009, Linda Winfree, Fall in Me, page 165:
text: "Oh, way to care about how I feel." His voice took on an exaggerated “Valley Girl” tone.
ref: 2012, Nancy Manther, A Charmed Life:
qualifier: As the head of an interjectory clause; followed by an infinitive starting with “to”; As the head of an interjectory clause; followed by an infinitive starting with “to”
glosses: Acknowledges that a task has been done well, chiefly in expressions of sarcastic congratulation.
examples: text: By the time the Mauretania was ready for launching a total weight of 16,800 tons was standing in the berth, and this represented the heaviest weight that had ever been sent down the ways up to that time.
ref: 1912, Fredrick A. Talbot, Steamship Conquest of the World, page 36:
glosses: The timbers of shipyard stocks that slope into the water and along which a ship or large boat is launched.
glosses: A guiding surface on the bed of a planer, lathe, etc. along which a table or carriage moves; usually in pairs.
Synonyms: word: way
Hyponyms: word: areaway
word: causeway
word: hallway
word: taxiway
word: road
word: street
word: track
word: path
word: trail
word: pathway
word: stairway
word: towpath
word: passageway
word: back road
word: byroad
word: corduroy road
word: crossroad
word: driveway
word: dual carriageway
word: expressway
word: freeway
word: highway
word: interstate
word: motorway
word: superhighway
word: thoroughfare
word: turnpike
word: bypath
word: byway
word: footpath
word: footway
word: walk
word: walkway
word: pavement
word: sidewalk
word: alleyway
word: alley
word: avenue
word: back street
word: back alley
word: blind alley
word: boulevard
word: chare
word: cul-de-sac
word: gennel
word: ginnel
word: gitty
word: high street
word: jigger
word: jitty
word: lane
word: one-way street
word: pend
word: shut
word: side street
word: snickelway
word: snicket
word: tenfoot
word: twitchel
word: twitten
word: wynd
Derived terms: 3-way
a bob each way
accessway
across the way
Aemilian Way
airway
aisleway
a little goes a long way
a little of something goes a long way
alleyway
all the way
all the way to Egery and back
all the way to Sunday
all-way stop
along the way
alway
American way
any old kind of way
anyway
any way
any way one cuts it
any way one slices it
any which way
arborway
archway
around the way
a straw shows which way the wind blows
backway
barrow-way
barway
beltway
be on one's merry way
beway
bikeway
bilgeway
Blessing Way
blueway
branchway
breezeway
bridleway
broadway
Broadway
busway
by a long way
by the way
by the way of
byway
by-way
by way of
by way of example
cableway
carpetway
carriageway
cartway
cellarway
change one's ways
churchway
clearway
colorway
colourway
comb someone's hair the wrong way
come a long way
come one's way
companionway
continue on one's merry way
covered way
craneway
crawlerway
crawlway
crossway
cruiseway
cry all the way to the bank
cut both ways
cycleway
die just the way one lived
die the way one lived
don't let the door hit you on the way out
doorway
down the way
dragway
drainageway
driftway
driveway
driveway doesn't go all the way to the road
drovers' way
droveway
ductway
dugway
each-way
each way
edgeway
eightfold way
either way
either-way offence
entranceway
entryway
escapeway
every way to Sunday
every which way
expressway
fairway
fallway
fareway
feedway
feel one's way
Fenway
fetch way
find one's way
find out the hard way
fishway
five-foot way
five-way
fiveway
Five Ways
flangeway
floodway
floorway
flyway
folk way
folk-way
folkway
foodway
footway
force one's way
foreway
forway
Fosse Way
fosseway
four-way
four-way cock
four-way stop
four-way switch
freeway
goo to you by way of the zoo
fuseway
gangway
gateway
gather way
get in the way
get one's own way
get one's way
give way
give way sign
go all the way
go a long way
go back a long way
go both ways
go down the wrong way
God works in mysterious ways
go one's own way
go one's way
go one's ways
go on one's merry way
go out of one's way
go their separate ways
go the way of
go the way of all flesh
go the way of all the earth
go the way of the dinosaurs
go the way of the Dodo
go the way of the dodo
go the way of the dodo bird
go way back
greenway
green way
guideway
halfway
hardway
hard way
harm's way
hatchway
haulageway
have a way about one
have a way with
have it both ways
have it your own way
have it your way
have one's head screwed on the right way
have one's way
have one's way with
have one's wicked way
have one's wicked way with
have way
headway
help is on the way
highway
his driveway doesn't go all the way to the road
hi way
hoistway
horseway
iceway
in a bad way
in a big way
in a family way
in a sea-way
in a way
in a way of speaking
in every way
in no way
in one's own little way
in someone's way
in something's way
in the family way
in the way
in the way of
in the worst way
in ways
it was this way
I-way
jetway
keyway
Kingsway
know one's way around
know which way is up
ladderway
laneway
laugh all the way to the bank
launchway
law-way
law-ways
lead the way
learn the hard way
leeway
legs all the way to one's neck
let me count the ways
let us count the ways
lichway
lie in the way
lifeway
linkway
lion in the way
logway
long way around
look the other way
lose one's way
make one's way
make the best of one's way
make way
manorway
manway
mend one's ways
middle way
midway
mileway
Milky Way
misway
motorway
multiway
M-way
M way
my way or the highway
nee way
nerveway
nine ways to Sunday
not know which way to turn
no two ways about it
no way
noway
no way Jose
no way José
no ways
no way to treat a lady
oceanway
oilway
once in a way
one's elevator doesn't go all the way to the top
one's way
one that goes the other way
one-way
one-way light time
one-way mirror
one way or another
one way or other
one way or the other
one-way street
one-way ticket
one-way ticket to Palookaville
one-way time
one-way traffic
on its way out
on one's way
on the way
on the way out
out of one's way
out of someone's way
out-of-the-way
out of the way
outway
over the way
paceway
packway
pannierway
parkway
parting of the ways
partway
part ways
passageway
passway
pathway
pave the way
pay one's own way
pay one's way
pay someone's way
pedway
permanent way
pick one's way
pipeway
plankway
plateway
plough one's way
plow one's way
porchway
prepare the way
push one's way
push one's way in
put oneself out of the way
p-way
p way
raceway
railway
rampway
redway
ridgeway
right of way
right-of-way
ringway
riverway
river-way
river way
roadway
rollway
rope-way
ropeway
routeway
rub someone the wrong way
rub up the wrong way
runway
rutway
sacred way
seaway
a way clear to
one's way clear to
one's way to
the error of one's ways
the same way
the way clear to
which way the cat jumps
set in one's ways
sexway
shaftway
sheepway
Shepway
shipway
shopway
show the way
sideway
six-way
six ways for Sunday
six ways from Sunday
six ways till Sunday
six ways to Sunday
skateway
skidway
skyway
slideway
slimeway
slipway
sluiceway
someone's driveway doesn't go all the way to the road
someway
someways
spaceway
speechway
speech way
speedway
spillway
spirit way
spur-way
stairway
stand in the way
steamway
steerageway
stepway
sternway
stopway
straightway
streamway
streetway
subway
swashway
swimway
swing both ways
swing that way
take the coward's way out
take the easy way out
take the wrong way
talk one's way out of
telpherway
ten ways from Sunday
ten ways to Sunday
that-a-way
that's the way it goes
that's the way life is
that's the way the ball bounces
that's the way the cookie crumbles
that's the way the mop flops
that way
that way inclined
that way madness lies
the hard way
the long way around the barn
the Lord works in mysterious ways
the other way
the other way around
the other way round
the real treasure is the friends we made along the way
there are many ways to skin a cat
there's more than one way to skin a cat
there isn't any easy way to say this
there's more than one way to cook an egg
there's more than one way to crack an egg
there's more than one way to feed a cat
there's more than one way to fuck a cat
there's more than one way to peel an orange
the way
the way that
the way things are
the way things are going
the way to a man's heart is through his stomach
third way
this-a-way
this way
thoroughway
thoughtway
threeway
three-way
three-way girl
three-way stop
three-way switch
throughway
thruway
tideway
tollway
to one's way of thinking
to put it another way
trackway
trafficway
trailway
trainway
tramway
transitway
travelway
truckway
tubeway
tunnelway
turn the other way
turtles all the way down
two bob each way
two-way
two-way communication
two-way joist slab
two-way mirror
two-way street
two-way switch
two-way travel time
under way
underway
unwayed
veloway
wagonway
walkingway
walkway
washway
wasteway
waterway
way back
way back when
way-baggage
waybeam
waybill
way bill
waybread
way-cleaner
way enough
wayfare
wayfarer
wayfaring
wayfellow
wayfinder
way-finding
wayfinding
waygate
way-going
waygone
way in
waylay
wayleave
way leave
wayless
waymaker
waymaking
waymark
waymarker
waymaster
waymate
wayobject
way of all flesh
way off
way of life
Way of the Cross
way of the world
ways of the world
way of thinking
way out
way-out
way out of a paper bag
way out of a wet paper bag
way passenger
waypoint
waypost
ways and means
wayside
way-sliding
waystage
way station
way-station
way thistle
way to go
way to run a railroad
way-traffic
way-train
wayupthere
waywarden
way way back
way-wise
wayworn
weasel one's way
whale's way
what a way to go
what way the wind is blowing
wheelway
where there is a will there is a way
where there's a will there's a way
whichever way one slices it
which way the wind is blowing
windway
winning ways
wireway
woodway
work one's way
work one's way up
wrong-way concurrency
wrong-way driver
you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows
zipway
Related terms: word: railway
word: railroad
word: tramway
word: waterway
word: racetrack
word: racecourse
word: air corridor
word: corridor
word: passage
word: bridge
word: crossroads
word: junction
word: intersection
word: settlement
word: course
word: itinerary
word: route