a narrow way or passage between hedges, fences, walls, or houses.
any narrow or well-defined passage, track, channel, or course.
a longitudinally marked part of a highway wide enough to accommodate one vehicle, often set off from adjacent lanes by painted lines (often used in combination).
a new six-lane turnpike.
a fixed route followed by ocean steamers or airplanes.
(in a running or swimming race) the marked-off space or path within which a competitor must remain during the course of a race.
a long, narrow wooden track that a ball rolls down in a game of bowling.
an area of interest or expertise that is associated with a person or group whose contributions or authority in that area are respected.
Teen magazines should stay in their lane and stick to publishing articles about relationships, style, and beauty.
Politics. an affiliation or faction that presents one path to nomination or election victory for candidates who espouse that ideology or embody its ideals.
The libertarian candidates siphoned voters away from the conservative establishment lane in the primary.
(in a MOBA video game) one of the major arteries on the map between the two strongholds in which the fighting between characters occurs.
Our strategy is to push with a support character in the top lane.
a narrow road or way between buildings, hedges, fences, etc
( capital as part of a street name )
Drury Lane
any of the parallel strips into which the carriageway of a major road or motorway is divided
any narrow well-defined route or course for ships or aircraft
one of the parallel strips into which a running track or swimming bath is divided for races
the long strip of wooden flooring down which balls are bowled in a bowling alley
lone or alone
on one's own
See path.
First recorded before 1000; Middle English, Old English; cognate with Dutch laan “avenue,” Old Norse lǫn “oblong hayrick, row of houses”
A lane is a relatively narrow street or road. Most country lanes never get backed up with rush hour traffic. There's the kind of lane that meanders through wooded, hilly countryside, and then there's the lane that's one particular row of traffic on the a busier road. This second kind of lane is sometimes just one of many options, like on an eight-lane highway. You might also choose a lane in a swimming pool, if you swim competitively or among many lap swimmers.
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
That recurring fascination stands out partly because Spielberg has never been a filmmaker who stays in one lane.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 11, 2026
It seems this was caused by a combination of the layout of the pit lane and the way the limit is measured.
From BBC • Jun. 9, 2026
And it could have been even better with a podium but a penalty for speeding in the pit lane is unnecessary and cost him.
From BBC • Jun. 7, 2026
Judengasse, Mr. McAuley tells us, was but “a squalid little lane that was only about twelve feet wide and constituted the entirety of the ghetto.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 7, 2026
Well, I hurried down the lane, not even bothering to remove my apron.
From "The Bletchley Riddle" by Ruta Sepetys and Steve Sheinkin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
