avenue

[av-uh-nyoo, -noo] /ˈæv əˌnyu, -ˌnu/
noun
1.
a wide street or main thoroughfare.
2.
a means of access or attainment:
avenues of escape; avenues to greater power.
3.
a way or means of entering into or approaching a place:
the various avenues to India.
4.
Chiefly British.
  1. a wide, usually tree-lined road, path, driveway, etc., through grounds to a country house or monumental building.
  2. a suburban, usually tree-lined residential street.
Origin
1590-1600; < French, literally, approach, noun use of feminine past participle of avenir < Latin advenīre to come to. See a-5, venue
Synonyms
1. See street.
Examples from the web for avenue
  • With a little imagination, music can also provide an avenue for learning.
  • Scientists have forged a promising avenue in the quest to restore mobility to patients paralyzed by disease or injury.
  • Under the dome of fading sky, the river cuts a twisting avenue through the forest.
  • When you're cooking down an avenue and you want a little extra go-power, it's awesome.
  • Participation in blogs or starting one's own blog could be an avenue for reaching out.
  • We rattle down a quiet avenue on a warm spring morning.
  • So, there exists nothing to back that avenue of thought.
  • He was right in the middle of the avenue and they took him literally.
  • As it becomes harder to smuggle through the desert, the legitimate ports of entry become a more attractive avenue.
  • But nonetheless, the historic and artistic atmosphere on this avenue endures.
British Dictionary definitions for avenue

avenue

/ˈævɪˌnjuː/
noun
1.
  1. a broad street, often lined with trees
  2. (capital as part of a street name) a road, esp in a built-up area: Shaftesbury Avenue
2.
a main approach road, as to a country house
3.
a way bordered by two rows of trees: an avenue of oaks
4.
a line of approach: explore every avenue
Word Origin
C17: from French, from avenir to come to, from Latin advenīre, from venīre to come
Word Origin and History for avenue
n.

c.1600, "a way of approach" (originally a military word), from Middle French avenue "way of access," from Old French avenue "act of approaching, arrival," noun use of fem. of avenu, past participle of avenir "to come to, arrive," from Latin advenire "to come to," from ad- "to" (see ad-) + venire "to come" (see venue). Meaning shifted to "a way of approach to a country-house," usually bordered by trees, hence, "a broad, tree-lined roadway" (1650s), then to "wide, main street" (by 1846, especially in U.S.).