- 1 a narrow road in the country winding country lanes We drove along a muddy lane to reach the farmhouse. see also memory lane Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivenarrow, little, small, … verb + laneturn down, turn into lane + verbgo, lead, run, … prepositionalong a/the lane, down a/the lane, in a/the lane, … See full entry See related entries: Types of road
- 2 (especially in place names) a street, often a narrow one with buildings on both sides The quickest way is through the back lanes behind the bus station. Park Lane See related entries: Types of road
- 3 a section of a wide road, that is marked by painted white lines, to keep lines of traffic separate the inside/middle lane the northbound/southbound lane to change lanes She signalled and pulled over into the slow lane. a four-lane highway see also bus lane, cycle lane, fast lane, outside lane, passing lane Wordfinderroadbypass, carriageway, diversion, hard shoulder, lane, lay-by, motorway, road, roundabout, signpost Oxford Collocations Dictionary adjectivefast, slow, left, … verb + lanechange, get in, switch, … lane + nounclosures, restrictions prepositionin (the) lane See full entry See related entries: Types of road
- 4a narrow marked section of a track or a swimming pool that is used by one person taking part in a race The Australian in lane four is coming up fast from behind. See related entries: Athletics, Swimming
- 5(in tenpin bowling ) a narrow section of floor along which the ball is bowled a 20-lane bowling alley
- 6a route used by ships or aircraft on regular journeys one of the world’s busiest shipping/sea lanes Word OriginOld English, related to Dutch laan; of unknown ultimate origin.Extra examples Commuters can expect lane closures for a while longer. Get in lane early when approaching a junction. I hate changing lanes on the motorway. I hate changing lanes when the traffic is heavy. Lane closures are causing hold-ups on the M6 near junction 2. Lighting is poor in the back lanes of the city. Obi, the record holder, is in lane 3. The bus was crawling along in the slow lane. The lane runs past the the lake. There is plenty to explore in the narrow winding lanes behind the cathedral. We cycled for miles along winding country lanes. We drove down winding country lanes on the journey to York. the lane leading to the village A little lane winds down to the coast. Cattle were being led along the lane. I turned into the lane where I lived. Outside the village we turned into a leafy lane leading to a farm. The address is 53 Chancery Lane. The lane petered out in a muddy track. They drove along the winding lanes. They live in a cottage in Church Lane. They used to go and pick blackberries along the lanes. We left the car at the end of the lane. We walked down the quiet country lane towards the riverbank.Idioms
where things are most exciting and where a lot is happening He had a good job, plenty of money and he was enjoying life in the fast lane.
Check pronunciation: lane
