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Entry 15 senses · 4 variants Webster, 1913

Way

/wā/ · IPA /[weɪ]/
01 adv. Away.
  1. 1.
    Away.[Obs. or Archaic]
Phrases & compounds
To do way — to take away; to remove.
To make way with — to make away with. See under Away.
02 n. That by, upon, or along, which one passes or processes; opportunity or room to pass; place of passing; passage; road, street, track, or pat…
  1. 1.
    That by, upon, or along, which one passes or processes; opportunity or room to pass; place of passing; passage; road, street, track, or path of any kind; as, they built a way to the mine.
    “I shall him seek by way and eke by street.” — Chaucer.
    “The way seems difficult, and steep to scale.” — Milton.
    “The season and ways were very improper for his majesty's forces to march so great a distance.” — Evelyn.
  2. 2.
    Length of space; distance; interval; as, a great way; a long way.
    “And whenever the way seemed long, Or his heart began to fail.” — Longfellow.
  3. 3.
    A moving; passage; procession; journey.
    “I prythee, now, lead the way.” — Shak.
  4. 4.
    Course or direction of motion or process; tendency of action; advance.
    “If that way be your walk, you have not far.” — Milton.
    “And let eternal justice take the way.” — Dryden.
  5. 5.
    The means by which anything is reached, or anything is accomplished; scheme; device; plan.
    “My best way is to creep under his gaberdine.” — Shak.
    “By noble ways we conquest will prepare.” — Dryden.
    “What impious ways my wishes took!” — Prior.
  6. 6.
    Manner; method; mode; fashion; style; as, the way of expressing one's ideas.
  7. 7.
    Regular course; habitual method of life or action; plan of conduct; mode of dealing.
    “Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.” — Prov. iii. 17.
    “When men lived in a grander way.” — Longfellow.
  8. 8.
    Sphere or scope of observation.
    “The public ministers that fell in my way.” — Sir W. Temple.
  9. 9.
    Determined course; resolved mode of action or conduct; as, to have one's way.
  10. 10.
    Progress; as, a ship has way.(Naut.)
  11. 11.
    The longitudinal guides, or guiding surfaces, on the bed of a planer, lathe, or the like, along which a table or carriage moves.(Mach.)
  12. 12.
    Right of way. See below.(Law)
    “All keep the broad highway, and take delight With many rather for to go astray.” — Spenser.
    “There is but one road by which to climb up.” — Addison.
    “When night Darkens the streets, then wander forth the sons Of Belial, flown with insolence and wine.” — Milton.
Phrases & compounds
By the way — in passing; apropos; aside; apart from, though connected with, the main object or subject of discourse.
By way of — for the purpose of; as being; in character of.
Covert way — See Covered way, under Covered.
In the family way — See under Family.
In the way — so as to meet, fall in with, obstruct, hinder, etc.
In the way with — traveling or going with; meeting or being with; in the presence of.
Milky way — See Galaxy, 1.
No way — See Noway, Noways, in the Vocabulary.
On the way — traveling or going; hence, in process; advancing toward completion; as, on the way to this country; on the way to success.
Out of the way — See under Out.
Right of way — a right of private passage over another's ground. It may arise either by grant or prescription. It may be attached to a house, entry, gate, well, or city lot, as well as to a country farm.
To be under way — to be in motion, as when a ship begins to move.
To give way — See under Give.
To go one's way — to go or come; to depart or come along.
To go one's way — to proceed in a manner favorable to one; -- of events.
To come one's way — to come into one's possession (of objects) or to become available, as an opportunity; as, good things will come your way.
To go the way of all the earth — to die.
To make one's way — to advance in life by one's personal efforts.
To make way — See under Make, v. t.
Ways and means — Methods; resources; facilities.
Way leave — permission to cross, or a right of way across, land; also, rent paid for such right.
Way of the cross — the course taken in visiting in rotation the stations of the cross. See Station, n., 7 (c).
Way of the rounds — a space left for the passage of the rounds between a rampart and the wall of a fortified town.
Way pane — a pane for cartage in irrigated land. See Pane, n., 4.
Way passenger — a passenger taken up, or set down, at some intermediate place between the principal stations on a line of travel.
Ways of God — his providential government, or his works.
Way station — an intermediate station between principal stations on a line of travel, especially on a railroad.
Way train — a train which stops at the intermediate, or way, stations; an accommodation train.
Way warden — the surveyor of a road.
Syn. Street; highway; road.
-- Way, Street, Highway, Road. Way is generic, denoting any line for passage or conveyance; a highway is literally one raised for the sake of dryness and convenience in traveling; a road is, strictly, a way for horses and carriages; a street is, etymologically, a paved way, as early made in towns and cities; and, hence, the word is distinctively applied to roads or highways in compact settlements.
03 v. t. To go or travel to; to go in, as a way or path.
  1. 1.
    To go or travel to; to go in, as a way or path.[Obs.]
04 v. i. To move; to progress; to go.
  1. 1.
    To move; to progress; to go.[R.]
    “On a time as they together wayed.” — Spenser.