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noun Road n. 1.A journey, or stage of a journey. (Obs.) "With easy roads he came to Leicester." 2.An inroad; an invasion; a raid. (Obs.) 3.A place where one may ride; an open way or public passage for vehicles, persons, and animals; a track for travel, forming a means of communication between one city, town, or place, and another. "The most villainous house in all the London road." Note: The word is generally applied to highways, and as a generic term it includes highway, street, and lane. 4.A place where ships may ride at anchor at some distance from the shore; a roadstead; often in the plural; as, Hampton Roads. "Now strike your saile, ye jolly mariners, For we be come unto a quiet rode (road)." On the road, or Uponthe road, traveling or passing over a road; coming or going; traveling; on the way. "My hat and wig will soon be here, They are upon the road." Road agent, a highwayman, especially on the stage routes of the unsettled western parts of the United States; a humorous euphemism. (Western U.S.) "The highway robber road agent he is quaintly called." Road book, a guidebook in respect to roads and distances. road kill See roadkill in the vocabulary. Road metal, the broken, stone used in macadamizing roads. Road roller, a heavy roller, or combinations of rollers, for making earth, macadam, or concrete roads smooth and compact. often driven by steam. Road runner (Zool.), the chaparral cock. Road steamer, a locomotive engine adapted to running on common roads. To go on the road, to engage in the business of a commercial traveler. (Colloq.) To take the road, to begin or engage in traveling. To take to the road, to engage in robbery upon the highways. Synonyms: Way; highway; street; lane; pathway; route; passage; course. See Way.
preposition On prep. The general signification of on is situation, motion, or condition with respect to contact or support beneath; as: 1.At, or in contact with, the surface or upper part of a thing, and supported by it; placed or lying in contact with the surface; as, the book lies on the table, which stands on the floor of a house on an island. "I stood on the bridge at midnight." 2.To or against the surface of; used to indicate the motion of a thing as coming or falling to the surface of another; as, rain falls on the earth. "Whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken." 3.Denoting performance or action by contact with the surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by means of; with; as, to play on a violin or piano. Hence, figuratively, to work on one's feelings; to make an impression on the mind. 4.At or near; adjacent to; indicating situation, place, or position; as, on the one hand, on the other hand; the fleet is on the American coast. 5.In addition to; besides; indicating multiplication or succession in a series; as, heaps on heaps; mischief on mischief; loss on loss; thought on thought. 6.Indicating dependence or reliance; with confidence in; as, to depend on a person for assistance; to rely on; hence, indicating the ground or support of anything; as, he will promise on certain conditions; to bet on a horse; based on certain assumptions. 7.At or in the time of; during; as, on Sunday we abstain from labor. See At (synonym). 8.At the time of; often conveying some notion of cause or motive; as, on public occasions, the officers appear in full dress or uniform; the shop is closed on Sundays. Hence, In consequence of, or following; as, on the ratification of the treaty, the armies were disbanded; start on the count of three. 9.Toward; for; indicating the object of some passion; as, have pity or compassion on him. 10.At the peril of, or for the safety of. "Hence, on thy life." 11.By virtue of; with the pledge of; denoting a pledge or engagement, and put before the thing pledged; as, he affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honor. 12.To the account of; denoting imprecation or invocation, or coming to, falling, or resting upon; as, on us be all the blame; a curse on him. "His blood be on us and on our children." 13.In reference or relation to; as, on our part expect punctuality; a satire on society. 14.Of. (Obs.) "Be not jealous on me." "Or have we eaten on the insane root That takes the reason prisoner?" Note: Instances of this usage are common in our older writers, and are sometimes now heard in illiterate speech. 15.Occupied with; in the performance of; as, only three officers are on duty; on a journey; on the job; on an assignment; on a case; on the alert. 16.In the service of; connected with; a member of; as, he is on a newspaper; on a committee. Note: On and upon are in general interchangeable. In some applications upon is more euphonious, and is therefore to be preferred; but in most cases on is preferable. 17.In reference to; about; concerning; as, to think on it; to meditate on it. On a bowline. (Naut.) Same as Closehauled. On a wind, or On the wind (Naut.), sailing closehauled. On a sudden. See under Sudden. On board, On draught, On fire, etc. See under Board, Draught, Fire, etc. On it, On't, of it. (Obs. or Colloq.) On shore, on land; to the shore. On the road, On the way, On the wing, etc. See under Road, Way, etc. On to, upon; on; to; sometimes written as one word, onto, and usually called a colloquialism; but it may be regarded in analogy with into. "They have added the -en plural form on to an elder plural." "We see the strength of the new movement in the new class of ecclesiastics whom it forced on to the stage."
Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48
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