driveway

D2R1I1V4E1W4A1Y4
US/ˈdɹaɪvˌweɪ/

noun

A short private road that leads to a house or garage.

Less commonScrabble 18

Meanings

noundriveway (plural driveways)

plural driveways

  1. UKUSA short private road that leads to a house or garage.

    Synonyms: drive

  2. USA road that enters or circulates through a defined area, such as an institution, compound, land area, etc., for the purpose of private access, maintenance, or security.

    They drove in the driveway into the parking lot that was totally full.

    2020 October 28, Franco La Monica, Catch 44, Meadville, Pennsylvania: Christian Faith Publishing, →ISBN, page 37
    1 more example

    The design originally called for a 1-lane-wide driveway leading from the street to the parking area.

    1988 April 28, Joseph Truni, “Asphalt Answers”, in Popular Mechanics, page 127

    Synonyms: service road, access road

  3. uncommonSynonym of droveway.

    The river corridor had also been used as a driveway for sheep in the past. Prior to the gold rush era, it is likely that early day trappers traveled the corridor.

    1991, Robin Rose, “Appendix C: Resource Assessment: North Powder National Wild and Scenic River. USDA, Forest Service, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest”, in Environmental Assessment for the North Powder Wild and Scenic River Management Plan, US Department of Agriculture, page 12
    1 more example

    Magdalena became a major cattle town, securing one of the largest stockyard shipping pens in the Southwest beginning in 1885. "The Magdalena Trail" was a cowboy's destination driving and herding cattle and sheep to the stockyards. So prominent was this trail that it was officially claimed as a "driveway for cattle" by the Grazing Homestead Act of 1916. Today in Magdalena the wooden stockyards, worn by weather and time, still stand as a testament to the Old West Cattle Drives.

    2022, Outdoors Southwest, “Journey through New Mexico”, in Outdoors Southwest, retrieved 13 Sep 2023

    Synonyms: droveway

Synonyms & antonyms

nounA short private road that leads to a house or garage.

Similar

nounA road that enters or circulates through a defined area, such as an institution, compound, land area, etc., for the purpose of private access, maintenance, or security.

nounSynonym of droveway.

Similar

More synonyms by meaning

nouna road leading up to a private house

Similar
driveprivate road
Broader

Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Origin

  1. Middle Englishdriven
  2. Englishdrive
  3. Englishway
  4. Englishdriveway

From drive + way.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Catalan camí d'accés
  • camí d'accésshort private road that leads to a house or garage
Chinese Mandarin 車道 /车道, 專用支路 /专用支路
  • 車道 /车道 (chēdào)short private road that leads to a house or garage
  • 專用支路 /专用支路 (zhuānyòngzhīlù)short private road that leads to a house or garage
Czech příjezdová cesta
  • příjezdová cestashort private road that leads to a house or garage
Danish indkørsel
  • indkørselshort private road that leads to a house or garage
Dutch oprit, inrit
  • opritshort private road that leads to a house or garage
  • inritshort private road that leads to a house or garage
Finnish pihatie, yksityinen ajotie
  • pihatieshort private road that leads to a house or garage
  • yksityinen ajotieshort private road that leads to a house or garage
French allée, sortie de véhicules
  • alléeshort private road that leads to a house or garage
  • sortie de véhiculesshort private road that leads to a house or garage
German Einfahrt, Auffahrt
  • Einfahrtshort private road that leads to a house or garage
  • Auffahrtshort private road that leads to a house or garage
  • Zufahrtshort private road that leads to a house or garage
  • Ein- und Ausfahrtshort private road that leads to a house or garage
Irish cabhsán
  • cabhsánshort private road that leads to a house or garage
Italian passo carrabile, strada privata
  • passo carrabileshort private road that leads to a house or garage
  • strada privatashort private road that leads to a house or garage
Japanese 私道
  • 私道 (shidō)short private road that leads to a house or garage
Norwegian Bokmål oppkjørsel
  • oppkjørselshort private road that leads to a house or garage
Polish podjazd do domu
  • podjazd do domushort private road that leads to a house or garage
Russian подъездна́я доро́жка, прое́зд
  • подъездна́я доро́жка (podʺjezdnája doróžka)short private road that leads to a house or garage
  • прое́зд (projézd)short private road that leads to a house or garage
Spanish entrada (para coches), vado
  • entrada (para coches)short private road that leads to a house or garage
  • vadoshort private road that leads to a house or garage
  • chaflánshort private road that leads to a house or garage
  • badénshort private road that leads to a house or garage
Swedish uppfart
  • uppfartshort private road that leads to a house or garage
Turkish garaj yolu
  • garaj yolushort private road that leads to a house or garage
Cite this entry
APA

driveway. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/driveway

MLA

“driveway.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/driveway. Accessed November 2, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “driveway,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/driveway.

Source: driveway on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.