avenueav‧e‧nue /ˈævənjuː $ -nuː/ ●●○ noun [countable] 
Fifth Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue2a possible way of achieving something: The president wants to explore every avenue towards peace in the region. There are many avenues open to researchers.3British English a road or broad path between two rows of trees, especially one leading to a big house: a tree-lined avenue
WORD ORIGINavenue
Origin:
1600-1700 French avenir ‘to come up to’, from Latin advenire; ➔ ADVENTUREEXAMPLES FROM OTHER DICTIONARIES
- Sherman Avenue
- We explored every possible avenue, but still couldn't come up with a solution.
- In advancing the tenets of racism, Western theorists left no avenue of human potentiality and human activity untouched.
- Instead, punk gave metal merchants a new avenue to enter the music world.
- It's either an avenue or a road, right?
- On the dark avenue, not a car, not a lit window.
- The great avenues of live oaks meant to grace their approaches now just cast a damp shade.
- They drove through the gates and up the avenue of ancient lime trees.
- Whatever the reason, once the journey on that path is commenced, the martial artist can travel down many avenues.
THESAURUStypes of road
a hard surface for cars, buses etc to drive on: · They’re planning to build a new road.· My address is 42, Station Road.
a road in a town, with houses or shops on each side: · She lives on our street.· We walked along the streets of the old town.· Oxford Street is one of Europe’s busiest shopping areas.· He was stopped by the police, driving the wrong way down a one-way street.· Turn left on Main Street (=the street in the middle of a town, where most of the shops are – used in American English).· These days the same shops are on every high street (=the street in the middle of a town, where most of the shops are – used in British English).
a road in a town, often with trees on each side: · the busy avenue in front of the cathedral· He lived on Park Avenue.
a wide road in a city or town – used especially in street names in the US, France etc. In the UK, streets are usually called avenue rather than boulevard: · the world-famous Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
a narrow road in the country: · a winding country lane
a short street which is closed at one end: · The house is situated in a quiet cul-de-sac in North Oxford.
especially British English, dirt road American English a narrow road in the country, usually without a hard surface: · The farm was down a bumpy track.
British English a road that goes around a town: · The airport is on the ring road.
British English a road that goes past a town, allowing traffic to avoid the centre: · The bypass would take heavy traffic out of the old city centre.
British English, divided highway American English a road with a barrier or strip of land in the middle that has lines of traffic travelling in each direction: · I waited until we were on the dual carriageway before I overtook him.
American English a very wide road in a city or between cities, on which cars can travel very fast without stopping: · Take the Hollywood Freeway (101) south, exit at Vine Street and drive east on Franklin Avenue.· Over on the side of the expressway, he saw an enormous sedan, up against a stone wall.
British English, highway American English a very wide road for travelling fast over long distances: · The speed limit on the motorway is 70 miles an hour.· the Pacific Coast Highway
American English a road for fast traffic that goes between states: · The accident happened on Interstate 84, about 10 miles east of Hartford.
a road that you pay to use: · The government is planning to introduce toll roads, in an effort to cut traffic congestion.
American English a large road for fast traffic that you pay to use: · He dropped her off at an entrance to the New Jersey Turnpike.
Longman Language Activatorin a town a hard level surface made for cars and other vehicles to travel on: · They're building a new road around the city centre.· I live at 37 King's Road, Birmingham.cross the road: · Before crossing the road, stop, look, and listen.by the side/edge of the road: · Something was lying in the gutter by the side of the road.across/over the road (=on the other side of the road): · A widow lives in the house just across the road.along/down/up the road (=on the same road): · I went to the girls' school down the road.main road (=a large road where there is likely to be a lot of traffic): · They turned left at the gas station, into the busy main road.busy road (=a road where there is a lot of traffic): · It's amazing how many schools front busy roads.
a road in the main part of a town, with houses, shops, or offices and sometimes a path down each side for people to walk on: · There were stores on both sides of the street.· Wall Street is a famous financial center in New York.the streets of London/Paris/Istanbul etc: · Pablo loved wandering through the streets of Barcelona.in/on the streets: · We need more police on the streets.along/down/up the street: · Victoria can't walk down the street without someone recognizing her.live in a streetBritish /on a street American: · She had lived in the same street in London all her life.somebody's street (=the street where someone lives): · Our street was just a row of brick terraced houses.
British /main street American the main street in the middle of a town where most of the shops and offices are: · Our bank used to have a branch in every high street.· The small town of Whitehorse, Alaska consists of a half-mile long main street and a few scattered houses.· Albert Road is just off the High Street.
also back alley American a small street, away from the main streets of a town, where there are no large shops or important buildings: · They went exploring the dark, narrow back alleys of the old part of town.· It took us almost an hour to find her house in a narrow little back street.
a small quiet road away from any main roads: · If the car park's full you might find a space in one of the side streets.
a very narrow street or path between buildings in a town: · A narrow alley led up between the houses to the main street.· Women in white aprons gossiped in the alley between the apartment blocks.
a wide road often with trees along each side of it, especially one that is long and straight - often used in street names: · She lives in a large house on Acacia Avenue.· New York's 5th Avenue· The apartment is located on Jackson Boulevard.· New Delhi, with its elegant wide avenues and impressive government buildings, is a complete contrast with Old Delhi.· There are plans to replace the old highway with a braod tree-lined boulevard.
a street that is closed at one end so there is only one way in and out: · We got to know the neighbors on our cul-de-sac quite well.· Archie lives on a dead end street, so it is very quiet.· Honey, this is a dead end - you'll have to turn around.
a road with houses on it, especially a beautiful one - used in street names: · She was found dead at her home in Maple Drive.
British a road with houses along each side of it and with only one way in or out - used in street names: · Fran lives at 37 Appian Close.
British a street with a curved shape - used in street names: · Turn left into Badgerly Crescent.
the method you use to achieve something a method, system, machine etc that you use to do something or achieve something: · We aim to use peaceful means to bring about change.means of doing something: · Education and training are the most effective means of improving the nation's economy.by means of something (=using a particular method or system): · He came to power by means of a military coup in 1960.by peaceful/political/unlawful etc means: · The judge ruled that Smith had been elected by unlawful means.means of communication/transport/transportation: · E-mail has become an increasingly important means of business communication.means to an end (=something that you do only as a way of achieving something else): · You should not regard the course simply as a means to an end.
a particular method or system that you use to get a result, especially in business or politics: · Pictures of fleeing refugees were used as an effective propaganda tool against the Communists.tool of: · Interest rates are one of the Finance Minister's main tools of economic policy.tool for (doing) something: · Dance and aerobics classes are a useful tool for encouraging girls back to school P.E. lessons.
a carefully planned way of trying to get what you want: · He's threatening to sue us? That's a tactic he's used before.· Giving out criticism rather than praise is a tactic that rarely works in the workplace.delaying tactic (=something you do to gain more time for yourself): · The question was just a delaying tactic to stop her leaving the room.
plural media formal a physical or electronic method used for giving people information, for example the telephone, television, newspapers etc: · The wide variety of electronic media available on the Internet.medium for (doing) something: · DVDs have quickly become an extremely popular medium for film viewing.
written something you use as a way of expressing your ideas, communicating something to people, or achieving what you want: vehicle for (doing) something: · the use of TV soap operas as a vehicle for spreading public information· The secret ballot was an important vehicle for freer elections.
a way of achieving something - use this especially when there are several different ways and you are trying to find the best one or the only one that is really possible: · We explored every possible avenue, but still couldn't come up with a solution.
WORD SETSarterial, adjectiveartery, nounasphalt, nounAve., avenue, nounballast, nounbarricade, nounBelisha beacon, nounbeltway, nounbitumen, nounblacktop, nounblind alley, nounblind spot, nounBlvd., bollard, nounbottleneck, nounboulevard, nounbox junction, nounbus lane, nounbus shelter, nounbus stop, nounbypass, nounbypass, verbbyway, nouncamber, nouncarriageway, nounCatseye, nouncauseway, nouncentral reservation, nounchicane, nounchippings, nouncircus, nounclose, nouncloverleaf, nouncobble, verbcobble, nouncobbled, adjectivecobblestone, nouncone, nouncontraflow, nouncorner, nouncorniche, nouncrash barrier, nouncrawler lane, nouncrescent, nouncrossing, nouncrossroads, nouncross street, nouncrosswalk, nouncul-de-sac, nouncurb, noundead end, noundirt road, noundiversion, noundivided highway, noundogleg, nounDr, dual carriageway, nounesplanade, nounexit, nounexpress, adjectiveexpressway, nounfast lane, nounflyover, nounfootbridge, nounfreeway, nounfwy., gradient, noungravelled, adjectivegridlock, noungrit, noungrit, verbgutter, nounhairpin bend, nounhard shoulder, nounheadroom, nounhedgerow, nounhigh road, nounhighway, nounhill, nounhump-backed bridge, nouninterchange, nounintersect, verbintersection, nouninterstate, nounkerb, nounlamp-post, nounlane, nounlay-by, nounlevel crossing, nounmacadam, nounmain road, nounmanhole, nounmedian, nounmeter maid, nounmews, nounmilestone, nounmini-roundabout, nounmotorway, nounnegotiable, adjectiveoff-ramp, nounoff-road, adjectiveone-way, adjectiveon-ramp, nounorbital, adjectiveparade, nounparkway, nounpath, nounpathway, nounpave, verbpavement, nounpedestrian, nounpedestrian, adjectivepedestrian crossing, nounpedestrianize, verbpedestrian precinct, nounpelican crossing, nounpiazza, nounpike, nounPk, Pl., plaza, nounpoint, nounpothole, nounpromenade, nounramp, nounRd., rest area, nounresurface, verbright of way, nounring road, nounroad, nounroadblock, nounroad sign, nounroad tax, nounroadway, nounroadworks, nounroundabout, nounrush hour, nounrut, nounrutted, adjectiveS-bend, nounS-curve, nounservice area, nounservice station, nounshoulder, nounsidewalk, nounsignpost, nounsingle track road, nounsleeping policeman, nounslip road, nounsnow route, nounsoft shoulder, nounspeed bump, nounspeed limit, nounspur, nounSt, stoplight, nounstreet, nounstreetcar, nounstreetlight, nounstrip, nounsubway, nounsuperhighway, nounsuspension bridge, nounswitchback, nountar, nountar, verbtarmac, nountarmac, verbtaxi rank, nounterminus, nounthoroughfare, nounthroughway, nounthruway, nounT-junction, nountoll, nountollbooth, nountoll bridge, nountollgate, nountoll road, nountollway, nountowaway zone, nountraffic, nountraffic calming, nountraffic circle, nountraffic cone, nountraffic island, nountraffic lights, nountraffic warden, nountramlines, nountruck stop, nountrunk road, nounturn, nounturning, nounturn-off, nounturnout, nounturnpike, noununderpass, nounway, nounwayside, nounweighbridge, nounyellow line, nounzebra crossing, noun
COLLOCATIONS FROM THE ENTRY The president wants to explore every avenue towards peace in the region.COLLOCATIONS FROM THE CORPUSADJECTIVE
1Avenue used in the names of streets in a town or city: The president wants to explore every avenue towards peace in the region.· He has always been something of a loner. restlessly exploring different avenues of improvisation.· Payne suggests several different avenues of action for proponents of psychodynamic social work.· Different documents have different qualities and offer different avenues for discussion and investigation.· The developer may follow a number of different avenues in his pursuit for suitable land.
· At either end of the village two long avenues of trees gave it a friendly air.· You approach the park down a long avenue, past lawns carefully tended and set in a girdle of trees.· The long avenue is still lined with the iron-laced pubs of the gold rush days, with their wooden verandahs.· The Parc Hotel stood at the end of a long, wide avenue Soseaua Kiseleff.
· I successfully blocked one of the main avenues they were exploring.· The research will pursue two main avenues of inquiry.
· The promise of test-tube fusion could open up new avenues for them.· Instead, punk gave metal merchants a new avenue to enter the music world.· Communications are short and publication is rapid, providing information on new avenues of research in the shortest possible time.· But it opens up new, practical avenues to explore.· Of course, this simplest first step opens whole new avenues to explore about how we pay for services.· We are open to new methods, new research, new avenues of inquiry.· And Oz's response was to draw further out to explore new avenues.· They can not explore new avenues for cancer research if there is not sufficient funding to buy equipment or pay scientists.
· Imprisonment is a harsh measure that should be used only when every other reasonable avenue has failed.· We hope that the review will also invite individual submissions through your pages and other media avenues.· So we've been left with no other avenue but to go to law.
· But media lawyers said there are other possible avenues for mounting a renewed First Amendment attack on the ban.
· About five blocks arriba from the Hotelito they cross a wide, deserted avenue that might be a main street.· It was situated in a wide, tree-lined avenue in what she took to be the smarter part of Richmond.· She drove down the wide west London avenue.· It was not just the new layout of wide avenues and boulevards, the greenery, the light and the air.· The Parc Hotel stood at the end of a long, wide avenue Soseaua Kiseleff.
VERB· He has always been something of a loner. restlessly exploring different avenues of improvisation.· A less intelligent and less secure judge might have permitted the defense to explore these avenues.· He's determined to explore all the avenues open to him, including writing folky and pastoral stuff.· And Oz's response was to draw further out to explore new avenues.· They can not explore new avenues for cancer research if there is not sufficient funding to buy equipment or pay scientists.· It can provide a chance to break loose and explore new avenues.
· The promise of test-tube fusion could open up new avenues for them.· An aroma opens on to an avenue.· Of course, this simplest first step opens whole new avenues to explore about how we pay for services.· Julio points to a side street that opens on to the avenue directly across from them.· In other words she herself is opening up avenues for all sorts of intuitive meanings.· At best, training may open new avenues or provide contacts which may lead to employment interviews.· And it's likely the commission will open up new avenues for the blacksmith who taught himself everything he knows.
· Communications are short and publication is rapid, providing information on new avenues of research in the shortest possible time.· The magazine has provided Benetton with an avenue to highlight issues, which their advertisements have touched on.· In Britain also, several types of paraprofessional training programmes have been developed that provide useful avenues for career advancement.
· The research will pursue two main avenues of inquiry.
Fifth Avenue Shaftesbury Avenue2a possible way of achieving something: The president wants to explore every avenue towards peace in the region. There are many avenues open to researchers.3British English a road or broad path between two rows of trees, especially one leading to a big house: a tree-lined avenue