path

noun

ˈpath How to pronounce path (audio)
Definition of pathnext
1
as in route
the direction along which something or someone moves try to stay out of the path of the golf balls while playing I tripped over a rock directly in my path

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in trail
a rough course or way formed by or as if by repeated footsteps a path worn through the library lawn by too many people walking over it

Synonyms & Similar Words
3
as in road
an established course for traveling from one place to another the path along which ancient traders traveled from Europe to China was known as the Silk Road

Synonyms & Similar Words

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of path Meilunaite found a similar path forward by educating herself on midlife health, shifting her sleep and giving her body more time to recover. — Tabitha Britt, Flow Space, 1 Sep. 2026 Footage from the disaster showed a massive surge of water and debris suddenly rushing through the valleys, engulfing buildings in its path. — Bonny Chu, FOXNews.com, 1 Sep. 2026 The instinct is to retreat toward familiar capabilities, but the path to the next level is rarely found inside the comfort of the previous one. — Bala Sathyanarayanan, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026 The harder and more important step is examining the path that brought you here and making the changes necessary to move forward. — Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for path
Recent Examples of Synonyms for path
  1. route
  2. trail
  3. road
  4. way
  5. pathway
  6. approach
  7. trajectory
  8. footpath
Noun
  • That could offer shipowners another route toward lower fuel use and emissions.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Avelo Airlines is extending its flight schedule at Concord-Padgett Regional Airport after announcing five new routes this year.
    — DJ Simmons, Charlotte Observer, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of route
Noun
  • Seeking a way to maintain the trails, the Copleys decided to rely on foot traffic from hikers to keep down vegetation.
    — John Moritz, Hartford Courant, 28 Aug. 2026
  • These trails form when aircraft engine emissions encounter extremely cold air found at high altitudes, causing tiny ice particles to develop.
    — Chas Newkey-Burden, TheWeek, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of trail
Noun
  • AVs can cause safety issues, especially during inclement weather, blackouts and on roads where there's construction or unusual traffic.
    — Lora Kolodny, CNBC, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Thus the oceanic feeling might be the royal road to establishing a museum of affiliations, rather than the old colonialist museum of conquests.
    — George Baker, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of road
Noun
  • While spoken language might benefit us in myriad ways, no single activity requires it, let alone explains what triggered its ongoing evolution over tens to hundreds of thousands of years.
    — Mike McRae September 02, New Atlas, 3 Sep. 2026
  • For nearly two additional years, all the way to a six-hour cut of the movie that went deep on Musk’s 2025 DOGE era and his SpaceX IPO plate-spin this summer.
    — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of way
Noun
  • Others with more extreme behaviors are sent home with no educational pathway at all.
    — Madeline Mitchell, USA Today, 1 Sep. 2026
  • This approach can help preserve businesses and honor owners' legacies by providing them with an exit pathway.
    — Evan Edwards, Forbes.com, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of pathway
Noun
  • From there, researchers also used synchrotron radiation and other microscopy approaches to analyze the healing tissues on a cellular level.
    — Andrew Paul, Popular Science, 3 Sep. 2026
  • Crews fighting the fire took an innovative approach Monday, using ground vehicles to apply a fire retardant typically dropped from airplanes, according to a post on the forest service’s Facebook page.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Sep. 2026
Definition of approach
Noun
  • At 27, considering his Hall of Fame trajectory, Jefferson’s goals are understandably lofty.
    — Alec Lewis, New York Times, 31 Aug. 2026
  • At a postlaunch press conference, NASA officials noted that the performance of the rocket that took the telescope to space was so picture-perfect that Roman will likely need fewer trajectory adjustments than planned.
    — Lee Billings, Scientific American, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of trajectory
Noun
  • Take the paved footpath behind Zori past olive groves to reach the ACI Marina, its restaurants and the taxi boats that take you to Hvar Town and the notoriously hedonistic beach club, Carpe Diem, on the neighboring island of Marinkovac.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2026
  • Cultivating tradition Hours down a narrow, mountainous footpath, Reynalda García Juárez is tending to those roots, quite literally.
    — Alfredo Sosa, Christian Science Monitor, 22 Aug. 2026
Definition of footpath

Phrases Containing path

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pates
path
pathbreaking
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Cite this Entry

“Path.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/path. Accessed 4 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on path

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about path

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