way

/weɪ/ noun

Definition

METHOD [C] › how you do something: [+ to do sth] I must find a way to help him. [+ of + doing sth] We looked at various ways of solving the problem. [+ (that)] It was the way that she told me that I didn't like.

ROUTE [C] › the route you take to get from one place to another: [usually singular] Is there another way out of here? I must buy a paper on the way home. Can you find your way back to my house? I took the wrong road and lost my way (= got lost).

make your way to/through/towards, etc › to move somewhere, often with difficulty: We made our way through the shop to the main entrance.

be on her/my/its, etc way › to be arriving soon: Apparently she's on her way.

in/out of the/sb's way › in/not in the area in front of someone that they need to pass or see through: I couldn't see because Bill was in the way. Sorry, am I in your way? Could you move out of the way, please?

a third of the way/most of the way, etc › used to say how much of something is completed: A third of the way through the film she dies.

get in the way of sth/sb › to prevent someone from doing or continuing with something: Don't let your new friends get in the way of your studies.

be under way › to be already happening: Building work is already under way.

give way (to sb/sth) › to allow someone to get what they want, or to allow something to happen after trying to prevent it: The boss finally gave way when they threatened to stop work. › UK (US yield) to allow other vehicles to go past before you move onto a road

give way to sth › to change into something else: Her excitement quickly gave way to horror.

give way › If something gives way, it falls because it is not strong enough to support the weight on top of it: Suddenly the ground gave way under me.

get sth out of the way › to finish something: I'll go shopping when I've got this essay out of the way.

DIRECTION [C] › a direction something faces or travels: This bus is going the wrong way. Which way up does this picture go (= which side should be at the top)?UK He always wears his baseball cap the wrong way round (= backwards).

SPACE/TIME [no plural] › an amount of space or time: We're a long way from home. The exams are still a long way away/off.

make way › to move away so that someone or something can pass

make way for sth › If you move or get rid of something to make way for something new, you do so in order to make a space for the new thing: They knocked down the old houses to make way for a new hotel.

in a way/in many ways › used to say that you think something is partly true: In a way his behaviour is understandable.

in no way › not at all: This is in no way your fault.

there's no way informal › If there is no way that something will happen, it is certainly not allowed or not possible: There's no way that dog's coming in the house.

No way! informal › certainly not: "Would you invite him to a party?" "No way!"

get/have your (own) way › to get what you want, although it might upset other people: She always gets her own way in the end.

in a big/small way informal › used to describe how much or little you do a particular thing: They celebrate birthdays in a big way.

a/sb's way of life › the way someone lives: Violence has become a way of life there.

→ See also the Milky Way

(Definition of way noun from the Cambridge Learner's Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)