in the way of

preposition

In relation to; in connection with; with respect to.

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Meanings

preposition
  1. idiomaticIn relation to; in connection with; with respect to.

    Certainly their extracurricular talents in the way of sport have not gone unnoticed.

    2011 September 2, Sonia van Gilder Cooke, “Harvard's a Bargain — If You're From the U.K.”, in Time
    2 more examples

    He had seen Death many times, - met him in the way of trade, and got acquainted with him.

    1851 June – 1852 April, Harriet Beecher Stowe, chapter 12, in Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life among the Lowly, volume (please specify |volume=I or II), Boston, Mass.: John P[unchard] Jewett & Company; Cleveland, Oh.: Jewett, Proctor & Worthington, published 20 March 1852, →OCLC

    Of what that involves in the way of doctrine I have no idea nor the time to inform myself.

    1879, Robert Louis Stevenson, chapter 13, in Travels with a Donkey in the Cévennes, 1st American edition, Boston, Mass.: Roberts Brothers, →OCLC
  2. idiomaticIn or into a position of being likely to obtain, to attain, or to achieve.

    But it would certainly put her in the way of a grand marriage.

    1891, Thomas Hardy, chapter IV, in Tess of the d’Urbervilles: A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented […], volume (please specify |volume=I to III), London: James R[ipley] Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., […], →OCLC
    2 more examples

    The King sought out the farmer who had been branded and sold as a slave . . . and put him in the way of a comfortable livelihood.

    1881, Mark Twain [pseudonym; Samuel Langhorne Clemens], chapter 34, in The Prince and the Pauper: A Tale for Young People of All Ages, Montreal, Que.: Dawson Brothers, →OCLC

    I am in the way of knowing that one of you will not reach your destination, but I don’t know which will be the one to fall. I am in the way of knowing that the rest will be taken before this man Flagg, who is not a man at all but a supernatural being. [...] It’s not my place to argue with you, or convince, but only to put you in the way of understanding God’s plan for you.

    1990, Stephen King, chapter 59, in The Stand
  3. idiomaticSimilar to; as an instance of; as a kind of.

    I don't think there's anything in the way of a haircut or a shave or a shampoo that could make me like my girl any less.

    1906, O. Henry, The Gift Of The Magi
    1 more example

    "My dear young friend, rely upon my doing my little all in your absence, by keeping the fact before the mind of Joseph.—Joseph!" said Mr. Pumblechook, in the way of a compassionate adjuration.

    1860 December – 1861 August, Charles Dickens, chapter XIX, in Great Expectations […], volume I, London: Chapman and Hall, […], published October 1861, →OCLC, page 328
  4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see in the way, of.

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
in someone's wayin something's waywith respect to

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 關於 /关于, 對於 /对于
  • 關於 /关于 (guānyú)in relation to
  • 對於 /对于 (duìyú)in relation to
  • 讓……能夠 /让……能够 (ràng... nénggòu)in a position of being likely to obtain
  • 類似於 /类似于 (lèisì yú)similar to
Finnish liittyen, suhteen
  • liittyenin relation to
  • suhteenin relation to
  • auttaain a position of being likely to obtain
  • tapainensimilar to
French par rapport à, en mesure de
  • par rapport àin relation to
  • en mesure dein a position of being likely to obtain
  • du genre desimilar to
Turkish -çe, -ca
  • -çein relation to
  • -cain relation to
  • -çain relation to
  • -cein relation to
Cite this entry
APA

in the way of. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20way%20of

MLA

“in the way of.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20way%20of. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “in the way of,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/in%20the%20way%20of.

Source: in the way of on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.